Demand based selection for cellular broadcast streaming media

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, determining available media content items and identifying a first number of wireless broadcast channels of a wireless network having a limited channel capacity and adapted to broadcast media content items within a coverage area. A demand for a group of media content items is identified, and media content items are selected according to the demand, wherein broadcasting of the selected media content items within the coverage area does not exceed the limited channel capacity. The selected media content items are assigned to a group of broadcast channels of the first number of wireless broadcast channels to obtain a broadcast channel assignment for the coverage area. The wireless network is configured to broadcast the selected media content items within the coverage area via wireless broadcast channels according to the broadcast channel assignment. Other embodiments are disclosed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The subject disclosure relates to demand based selection for cellularbroadcast streaming media.

BACKGROUND

Empowered by the next generation of wireless technology, cellularnetworks can provide mobile users with access to information from theInternet such as streaming media, e.g., streaming audio, streamingvideo, video on demand, video conferences, databases, etc. Even withhigh bandwidth connection provided by advanced cellular systems,however, there remains a bottleneck between the cellular network and themobile devices. This condition hinders the ability of mobile cellularusers to fully exploit the capabilities of the advanced cellularnetworks. Since smooth and effective data flow is important to users,this bottleneck can hinder recent trends in moving away from traditionalcable service.

Media streaming services may interface with mobile applications, orclients residing on users' mobile devices, e.g., smartphones. Forexample, music may be streamed from servers of a music streaming serviceto a mobile application of a smartphone device using a multicastingprotocol. A similar architecture may be used where video is streamed tomobile application clients from servers of a video streaming service. Atelecommunications service provider network acts as a pass-through dataservice which simply transmits and receives Internet Protocol (IP)packets to facilitate media streaming.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a communications network in accordance with variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating another example, non-limitingembodiment of a communications network in accordance with variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 3A depicts an illustrative embodiment of communication networkadapted to select and distribute media content including streaming mediaprograms in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 3B depicts an illustrative embodiment of a media content selectionprocess in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 3C depicts an illustrative embodiment of a static-user, streamselection process in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 3D depicts an illustrative embodiment of a mobile-user, streamselection process in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 3E depicts an illustrative embodiment of a triggered, streamselection process in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 3F is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a system functioning within the communication network ofFIGS. 1, 2 and 3A in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a virtualized communication network in accordance withvarious aspects described herein.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of acomputing environment in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of amobile network platform in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of acommunication device in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject disclosure describes, among other things, illustrativeembodiments for devices, processes and computer-readable media fordetermining a demand for media programming and selecting media programsfor broadcasting and/or multicasting via a broadcast and/or multicastchannel of a base station based upon the determined demand, e.g., withina cellular network. Examples of the present disclosure distribute mediaprograms via mobile networks, including but not limited to cellularbroadcast networks, in a more efficient manner than each endpoint devicereceiving a unique stream through the entire system. Other embodimentsare described in the subject disclosure.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a device,including a processing system having a processor and a memory thatstores executable instructions. The instructions, when executed by theprocessing system, facilitate performance of operations. The operationsinclude determining a number of available streaming media programs andidentifying a first number of wireless broadcast channels of a mobilecellular network. The mobile cellular network is adapted to broadcaststreaming media within a coverage area. The first number of wirelessbroadcast channels includes a limited channel capacity. A consumerdemand is determined for a group of streaming media programs of thenumber of available streaming media programs. Streaming media programsof the group of streaming media programs are selected to obtain selectedstreaming media programs according to the consumer demand, wherein abroadcasting of the selected streaming media programs within thecoverage area does not exceed the limited channel capacity. The selectedstreaming media programs are assigned to a group of broadcast channelsof the first number of wireless broadcast channels to obtain a broadcastchannel assignment for the coverage area. The mobile cellular network isconfigured to broadcast the selected streaming media programs within thecoverage area via wireless broadcast channels of the first number ofwireless broadcast channels according to the broadcast channelassignment.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a process,including determining, by a processing system including a processor, anumber of available streaming media items. A first number of wirelessbroadcast channels of a mobile network; are identified by the processingsystem, wherein the first number of wireless broadcast channels areadapted to broadcast streaming media items within a coverage area. Thefirst number of wireless broadcast channels have a limited channelcapacity. A user demand is determined by the processing system for agroup of streaming media items of the number of available streamingmedia items. Streaming media items of the group of streaming media itemsare selected by the processing system to obtain selected streaming mediaitems according to the user demand, wherein a broadcasting of theselected streaming media items within the coverage area does not exceedthe limited channel capacity. The selected streaming media items areassigned by the processing system to a group of broadcast channels ofthe first number of wireless broadcast channels to obtain a broadcastchannel assignment for the coverage area. The mobile network isconfigured to broadcast the selected streaming media items within thecoverage area via wireless broadcast channels of the first number ofwireless broadcast channels according to the broadcast channelassignment.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a non-transitory,machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, whenexecuted by a processing system including a processor, facilitateperformance of operations. The operations include determining a numberof available media content items and identifying a first number ofwireless broadcast channels of a wireless network. The wireless networkis adapted to broadcast media content items within a coverage area,wherein the first number of wireless broadcast channels has a limitedchannel capacity. A demand is determined for a group of media contentitems of the number of available media content items. Media contentitems of the group of media content items are selected to obtainselected media content items according to the demand, wherein abroadcasting of the selected media content items within the coveragearea does not exceed the limited channel capacity. The selected mediacontent items are assigned to a group of broadcast channels of the firstnumber of wireless broadcast channels to obtain a broadcast channelassignment for the coverage area. The wireless network is configured tobroadcast the selected media content items within the coverage area viawireless broadcast channels of the first number of wireless broadcastchannels according to the broadcast channel assignment.

For instance, many users in a common wireless service area may want toconnect to the same media stream, such as a live event stream. It iscustomary for each endpoint device to establish a unique data sessionextending through a telecommunications service provider network to asource. For cellular endpoint devices, each endpoint device may beallocated one or more unique radio frequency (RF) carriers, time slots,and/or resource blocks, for a data session, with subsequent wiredtransport back from the cell site into the core network and/or thecloud. Thus, each of the endpoint devices uses an incremental amount ofbandwidth for the respective sessions. In contrast, examples of thepresent disclosure allocate shared RF bandwidth in an efficient mannerbased on demand and/or trends to deliver a series or selection of mediacontent, such as programs, e.g., live broadcast content, pre-scheduledcontent, and so on, via the cellular network. Shared RF bandwidth allowssome or all endpoint devices in a wireless coverage area, e.g., a celland/or sector, can share the same broadcast stream and use one sharedsession, while the endpoint devices are not necessarily connected toeach other.

Without limitation, example broadcast media content may include videoand/or audio programs relating to preprogrammed content that can includeone or more of live sporting events, news, weather, scheduled televisionand/or audio programming, pay-per-view programs, advertisements andother types of media content. Generally, although not necessary, suchprograms and/or advertisements are presented via a media delivery systemat a time that is selected by a network operator and/or a mediaprovider, without input or selection from users as to the timing of thedelivery of the media programs and/or advertisements.

In one example, a cellular network receives media content from a mediaprovider, e.g., via a content distribution network. For instance, themedia content may be distributed via a satellite receiver or via a wirednetwork, and placed into one or more servers of the cellular networkthat can distribute the content. In one example, control information andthe actual media content are delivered to cell sites, e.g., basestations and/or related components, such as radio network controllers(RNCs), base station controllers (BSCs), media control units (MCUs),wireless access points, and so forth. In one example, base stationsbroadcast the control data in the form of a manifest file, e.g., anextensible markup language (XML)/text based file. The manifest file canidentify one or more of broadcast and/or multicast services, and mediaprograms associated with broadcast and/or multicast media service. Inone example, the media programs may be broadcast/transmitted viadifferent broadcast channels, e.g., RF resource blocks or the like,which may be selected from a pool of available RF resources of the basestation.

In addition, in one example the manifest file is transmitted on aparticular broadcast channel, e.g., a control channel, of the basestation. For instance, a known control channel may be used to broadcasta manifest file at each cell site. The manifest file for each cell sitemay identify the media programs that are available at that cell site,and may provide source specific multicast (SSM) Internet Protocol (IP)addresses assigned to the media programs. An endpoint device may thenrequest, e.g., subscribe, to a particular media program by sending arequest with the SSM IP address. Such elections, subscriptions,selections or choices can be recorded as preferential demand data. Aresponse may be provided to the endpoint device identifying a broadcastchannel on which the media program is broadcast by the base station.

As described above, in a streaming media cellular broadcast system,media content, e.g., programs, may be delivered to users from cell sitesfrom which selected media programs are transmitted onmulticast/broadcast channels. It is understood that resources of anymedia content delivery system have limitations, such that particularmedia content made available to content consumers may be less thanavailable source content accessible by the media content deliverysystem. In mobile networks, limited wireless spectrum can represent onesuch category of limitations. Spectrum allocations can be made accordingto available channels, e.g., particular frequencies and/or bandwidths,time slots, resource blocks, geographic regions, e.g., cells and/orsectors, and so on. Selection of one or more media streams can bedetermined by a stream selector that a selects or otherwise identifies asubset of available source content. The media delivery system canprovide the selected media content as available content or streams tocontent consumers. Consumers may then select from among differentchannels of available content to consume particular media content oftheir choice.

In at least some embodiments, streaming media selections can be based onconsumer or user demand. The user demand can include actual demand,estimated and/or predicted demand, or a combination of both. Demand canbe based on current usage data, e.g., current data sessions of activeusers. Current usage can be obtained, e.g., from mobile serviceproviders tracking content consumption and/or from mobile applicationsused in selecting and/or consuming content. This can be referred to asusage data. Alternatively or in addition, demand can be determined frompreferential demand data. For example, user preferences can bedetermined based on searches. Search results can be obtained frominternal media content delivery systems, e.g., mobile media accessapplication, electronic program guides. Alternatively or in addition,search results can be obtained from external systems and/orapplications, such as web browser searches, social media applications,and the like. Associations of search terms and/or search results can beanalyzed algorithmically to associate search terms and/or results withcurrent and/or future distribution of available media content items.Such associations would support associations of media content items witha limited number of broadcast/multicast channels.

In at least some embodiments, user preference data can be obtained fromuser profiles. User profiles can include user input data, such as menuitem selections, age, gender, group associations, e.g., affinity groups,self-identified likes and/or dislikes, educational background,profession, address, social media friends, past viewing history, DVRrecording of past, present and/or future programming, and so on.Alternatively or in addition, user profiles can be established and/ormaintained by others, such as mobile service providers, contentproviders, advertisers, third party service providers and the like.

It is understood that in at least some embodiments, preference data canbe obtained by solicitations. For example, a menu or list of mediacontent items can be sent out periodically, e.g., by mobile serviceproviders, streaming media service providers, third party solicitors,with an expectation that at least some recipients will respond with oneor more selections from the menu or list. The selections can be forspecific media content items, such as a particular program, series,and/or a particular episode of a series. Alternatively or in addition,the selections can be more general. Examples of more generalsolicitations may include content categories, e.g., news, comedy,documentaries, sports, content formats, e.g., short programs, movies,high definition, 4K, and so on.

In some embodiments, demand is based on consumer responses to asolicitation based on an election event. An election event can include aprescheduled voting period, e.g., a predetermined period before apre-scheduled program starts. Voting can be accomplished in anapplication, such as a dedicated mobile voting application, a mediadelivery and/or consumption application, a social media application.Alternatively or in addition, voting can be accomplished by email, textmessaging, voice calls, and the like. For example, a voting window canbe opened for all scheduled media programming or at least some subset ofavailable media programming. In some embodiments, a voting window endsbefore a program starts. Alternatively or in addition, a voting windowcan extend beyond a program start to allow demand data to be capturedduring a scheduled program.

In at least some embodiments, an election or voting event is responsiveto a trigger. A trigger can include, without limitation, demandexceeding available capacity, demand changing based on user mobility,demand changing based on user activity, network conditions, networkactivity, e.g., other wireless users, such as voice users, data usersand so on.

In at least some instances, demand can be determined at least in part bytrends. Trends can be determined based on prior demand, e.g., priorconsumption or usage, and/or anticipated or predicted demand.

It is understood that allocation and/or reallocation ofbroadcast/multicast resources can be accomplished in advance ofpre-scheduled program content. Accordingly, broadcast/multicastresources can be allocated according to a scheduled that may bedetermined at least in party by consumer demand. Alternatively or inaddition, broadcast/multicast resources can be allocated and/orreallocated during streaming of a media content item. For example aprogram with relatively low demand may be distributed via unicast,whereas a program with a relatively high demand may be distributed viabroadcast/multicast. To the extent demand changes during the program, itis understood that reallocation of broadcast/multicast resources canoccur.

Reallocations can be based on one or more of relative demands of otherprograms and/or bandwidth allocations. In some embodiments, allocationsof available multicast/broadcast channels is based on actual and/oranticipated bandwidth efficiency. Bandwidths, e.g., frequency bands,time slots and/or resource block allocations can be calculated and/orotherwise determined for one or more streaming media items. Comparisonscan be determined based on demand, whether one program over another willresult in a more efficient usage of wireless capacity.

For example, as demand increases for a program originally distributedvia unicast, a media delivery system may reallocate the program to abroadcast/multicast distribution Likewise, as demand decreases foranother program originally distributed via broadcast/multicast, themedia delivery system may reallocate the program to a unicastdistribution. In at least some embodiments, such reallocations betweenunicast and broadcast/multicast can occur without intervention by amobile user, e.g., occurring seamlessly in the background. However, ascertain changes may affect data charges, it is envisioned that at leastsome changes may be accompanied by a notice to the mobile user and/or arequirement that a mobile user accept such a change. In at least someembodiments, demand is further based on user acceptance and/or rejectionof such changes in broadcast/multicast content.

It is further understood that demand is subject to change. For example,as different users become active in any given period, demand of apopulation of media consumers in a particular geographic region servedby a mobile service provider will change. Likewise, active users maychoose to select different media content during the same active period,e.g., selecting different programs according to a program lineup of aservice provider, personal likes/dislikes, etc. Other contributors tochanging demand can include mobility of content consumers. For example,content consumers leaving one cell and/or sector and entering anothercell and/or sector will result in changes to the populations of contentconsumers in each of the cells and/or sectors.

Allocation of limited broadcast and/or multicast resources can beestablished within a media delivery system to associatebroadcast/multicast channels with media content or programs that aremost demanded. It is expected that demand based allocation ofbroadcast/multicast would offload a greater number of individual datasessions to broadcast/multicast sessions, resulting in a more efficientusage of limited spectral resources.

In connection with such a system, at least some users may travel betweenvarious geographical areas, e.g., management areas for the managementand coordination of streaming media cellular broadcast. Such a change inuser population within one or more management areas, e.g., cells and/orsectors at any given time can impact demand. For example, if a userconsuming a particular broadcast program moves from a first managementarea to a second management area, the user's associated demand can bereconsidered in a reallocation of broadcast/multicast resources of thecell and/or sector being entered and/or the cell and/or sector beingexited.

The nature of some media programs is such that it may be limited to useor usefulness in a given geographical area. Examples of the presentdisclosure identify and control the media programs delivered and madeavailable to the mobile endpoint devices that are moving through variouslocations and from cell site to cell site. Specific media programselection and availability are managed as part of operationalizing thesetypes of delivery systems.

In a streaming cellular broadcast delivery system, users may travel fromone management area to another management area. For example, amanagement area can be a large geographical area such as a largemetropolitan area or geographical viewing market or smaller, sub-dividedgeographical areas such as local neighborhoods, cities, counties,states, or any division. In one embodiment, the smallest management areain consideration with respect to the present disclosure is a cell site,(e.g., the coverage area of a single cellular base station). Thus, amanagement area may include from one to many cell sites and/or basestations. In addition, the available content streams, or media programs,may vary based upon the management area, the demands, trends and/orpreferences of users in the management area, and the demands, trendsand/or preferences of users who may enter the area or who may leave themanagement area. Notably, a base station has limited radio frequency(RF) resources available for streaming media cellular broadcast use. Assuch, in one example, a limited maximum number, e.g., up to 15-20 mediaprograms may be selected for streaming media cellular broadcast via eachbase station (or management area comprising multiple base stations).Thus, examples of the present disclosure select which content to fillthe available broadcast and/or multicast slots at each base station. Inaddition to the demands, trends and/or preferences of users who are in amanagement area, users who may enter the management area, or users whomay leave the management area, the decision of what streams to offer towhich subscribers in which areas may be further based upon: devicecapabilities, geographic entitlement, services purchased, system demandsand capabilities, and so forth.

To illustrate, in the Philadelphia area, there may be a strong demand(anticipated and/or actual, aggregated over a large number of users) forstreaming media cellular broadcast of a game being played by aPhiladelphia-based professional sports team. Moving away fromPhiladelphia, there may still be a strong demand for this program, butfurther south approaching Baltimore, there may be a stronger demand fora game being played at the same time by a Baltimore-based professionalsports team. Nevertheless, there may be enough users travelling fromPhiladelphia toward Baltimore and beyond that the game of thePhiladelphia-based team may still be selected as one of the 15-20streaming media cellular broadcast channels in parts of the Baltimorearea (or at least for cellular base stations and/or management areasthat cover major travel routes through the region). However, movingfurther south towards Washington, D.C., there may be far fewer usersinterested in the game of the Philadelphia-based team such that thisgame is not selected for streaming media cellular broadcast. Instead,there may be a game of a Washington, D.C.-based sports team, as well aspossibly the game of the Baltimore-based sports team, that are madeavailable via streaming media cellular broadcast, in addition to newsprogramming, other types of arts and entertainment programming, and soforth.

The media programs that are made available via streaming media cellularbroadcast may be live or pre-recorded content. In addition, the mediaprograms may be simultaneously broadcast via the over-the-air televisionand/or cable/satellite broadcast systems. However, in another example,any one or more of the media programs may comprise content that is notgenerally available as “live” content via these other systems. Inaddition, the streaming media cellular broadcast system of the presentdisclosure may utilize centralized or distributed devices for mediaprogram selection in one or more management areas. The media programselection may use data regarding: the current users in a managementarea, the users who are anticipated to be entering or leaving amanagement area (e.g., based upon a movement or a trajectory revealedvia Global Positioning System (GPS) location information or serving basestation information), users' origin/home areas, the types of mediaprograms that users in the home areas typically watch, and/or the typesof content that users in the home areas more specifically prefer toaccess via streaming media cellular broadcast. In one example, contentselection units may also utilize anonymized individual user viewingpreferences for users who may be in a management area, or who may beentering or leaving a management area.

In one example, the content selection may utilize current demand data,i.e., what users are currently viewing via streaming media cellularbroadcast as the users are travelling from management area to managementarea. For instance, multiple factors may be considered in selecting oneparticular media program versus another for inclusion in a limited setof media programs being broadcast via each cell site and/or managementarea. In addition, in one example, current viewing data of individualusers may be weighted more heavily as compared to the data regardingviewing preferences of a typical user from a user's home/origin area ordata regarding individual user profiles.

In one example, the content selection may also account for trends in thelevel(s) of aggregate demand for one or more media programs. Forinstance, in a management area somewhere approximately betweenPhiladelphia and Baltimore, 4,000 users may currently be watching thegame of the Philadelphia-based team and 1,000 users may currently bewatching the game of the Baltimore-based team. However over time, theactual viewership of the game of the Philadelphia-based team may declinefrom 4,000 down to 3,000 (and anticipated to decrease further) while thedemand for the game of the Baltimore-based team may increase from 1,000to 2,500 (and anticipated to increase further). In this case, since thesystem is bandwidth and broadcast channel limited at each base station,the trend data can be used to make sure that the game of theBaltimore-based team will become more available while the game of thePhiladelphia-based team may be more likely to give way to other mediaprograms with higher demand, or increasing demand, if demand for thegame of the Philadelphia-based team continues to decline further.

Notably, selection of media programs is performed with respect to allusers in a management area over time. Examples of the present disclosurealso account for users who are travelling and the types of mediaprograms they are instantaneously consuming. For instance, examples ofthe present disclosure consider where a user is coming from (e.g.,decreasing demand for certain content associated with a user in amanagement area the user is leaving) and where the user are going (e.g.,increasing demand for certain content associated with the user in amanagement area the user is entering). These and other aspects of thepresent disclosure are discussed in greater detail below in connectionwith the examples of FIGS. 1-7.

To better understand the present disclosure, FIG. 1 illustrates anexample network, or system 100 that may implement embodiments of thepresent disclosure for determining a demand and/or a trend, andselecting media programming for broadcast via a broadcast and/ormulticast channel of a base station based upon the demand and/or trend.In one example, the system 100 includes a telecommunications serviceprovider network 105. The telecommunications service provider network105 may comprise a cellular network 110, a service network 140, and anIP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network 150. The system 100 may furtherinclude other networks 170 connected to the telecommunications serviceprovider network 105. Endpoint devices 160 and 161 may each comprise acellular telephone, a smartphone, a tablet computing device, a laptopcomputer, a pair of computing glasses, a wireless enabled wristwatch, orany other cellular-capable mobile telephony and computing device(broadly, a “mobile endpoint device”). In one example, the endpointdevices 160 and 161 may communicate with cellular network 110 usingmultiple cellular communication technologies, such as GSM/time-divisionmultiple access (TDMA) communications, wideband code division multipleaccess (WCDMA), CDMA2000 communications, orthogonal frequency divisionmultiple access (OFDMA), and the like over various frequency bands.

In one example, the cellular network 110 comprises an access network 120and a core network, in this example a converged network 130, e.g., acellular core network with components for 2G-4G and beyondarchitectures, e.g., 5G. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, theaccess network 120 may include a Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) portion, anevolved UTRAN (eUTRAN), and a base station subsystem (BSS), e.g., aGlobal System for Mobile communication (GSM) radio access network(GRAN), while the converged network 130 may include evolved packet core(EPC) network components, and network switching subsystem (NSS)/GSM corenetwork and/or General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) core networkcomponents. For example, the base stations 121, 122, and 123 may eachcomprise a base transceiver station (BTS), a NodeB, and an eNodeB. Inother words, the base stations 121-123 may each comprise a cell sitewith 2G, 3G, and 4G/LTE components. As illustrated in FIG. 1, accessnetwork 120 further includes a base station controller (BSC)/radionetwork controller (RNC) 125, which may perform a variety of wirelessnetwork management related tasks such as wireless channel assignments,determining transmission power levels, controlling handovers from onebase station to another base station (e.g., for sessions using 2G and/or3G infrastructure), concentrating multiple signals from endpoint devicesfor onward transmission to other portions of the access network 120, orthe converged network 130, and to perform other functions. In thepresent example, the BSC/RNC 125 may coordinate 2G and 3G communicationssuch as GSM/TDMA communications, WCDMA or CDMA2000 communications, andthe like via the base stations 121-123.

In one example, each of the base stations 121-123 may have an associatedmedia coordination unit (MCU) 191-193. The MCUs 191-193 may receivemanifest files (or control data that is used to create manifest files)and media programs, and may re-broadcast the manifest files and mediaprograms via RF broadcast channels of the respective base stations121-123, as described in greater detail below. In one example, each ofthe MCUs 191-193 may comprise a computing system, such as the computingsystem 300 depicted in FIG. 3, specifically configured to performvarious steps, functions, and/or operations in connection with examplesof the present disclosure for broadcasting a media program via abroadcast channel of a base station based upon a level of aggregatedemand.

In one example, the converged network 130 provides various functionsthat support wireless services in the 2G-4G/LTE environment. Forinstance, the network devices Mobility Management Entity (MME) 132 andthe Serving Gateway (SGW) 134 provide various functions for LTE-basedcommunications. For example, the MME 132 is the control node for the LTEaccess networks, such as eUTRAN portions of the access network 120(e.g., eNodeBs). In one embodiment, the MME 132 is responsible for userequipment (UE)/mobile endpoint device tracking and paging (e.g., such asretransmissions), bearer activation and deactivation process, selectionof the SGW, e.g., SGW 134, and user authentication. In one embodiment,the SGW 134 routes and forwards user data packets, while also acting asthe mobility anchor for the user plane during inter-eNodeB handovers andas the anchor for mobility between LTE and other wireless technologies,such as 2G and 3G network portions. For LTE-based communications, theconverged network 130 may also include a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)136 that contains subscription-related information (e.g., subscriberprofiles), performs authentication and authorization of a wirelessservice user, and provides information about the subscriber's location.The converged network 130 may also comprise a packet data network (PDN)gateway 138 which serves as a gateway that provides access between theconverged network 130 and various data networks, e.g., the servicenetwork 140, the IMS network 150, networks 170, and the like. The packetdata network gateway 138 is also referred to as a PDN gateway, a PDN GWor a PGW. In one example, the LTE/EPC portions of the converged network130 may comprise an Internet Protocol (IP)/multi-protocol labelswitching (MPLS) backbone that supports both real-time and non-real-timeservice delivery.

As mentioned above, converged network 130 may also include NSS/GSM corenetwork and/or GPRS core network components. For example, convergednetwork 130 may include one or more mobile switching centers (MSCs) foreach wireless access network that forms part of the system 100, such asMSC 182 for access network 120. The converged network 130 may furtherinclude one or more home location registers (HLRs), such as the HLR 186,which functions as a central repository of authentication and servicevalidation information, subscription information, and other informationpertaining to user subscriptions and services. Similarly, respectivevisiting location registers (VLRs) may be integrated within each MSC,and may function as temporary repositories of authentication and servicevalidation information, subscription information, and other informationpertaining to visiting user subscriptions and services when an endpointdevice is located in a particular geographic region serviced by aparticular MSC/VLR. For example, the MSC 182 may be designated to serveand administer a first coverage area including access network 120. Thus,the MSC 182 may maintain, e.g., in a VLR, user profile records forendpoint devices currently serviced by base stations within the portionof the network that is the responsibility of MSC 182 (e.g., endpointdevice 160). It should be noted that in one example, a geographic regionserviced by a particular MSC/VLR may comprise a management area forstreaming media cellular broadcast. However as stated above, in otherexamples the management area(s) may be of a larger or smaller size.

The converged network 130 may also include GPRS network elements forhandling data calls to and from endpoint devices. Such network elementsmay include a serving GPRS support node (SGSN) 184, a gateway GPRSsupport nodes (GGSN) 188, and related support components including mediaservers, application servers, and the like. An SGSN refers to a networknode responsible for communicating with endpoint devices and routing ofdata calls. Similar to the MSC 182, the SGSN 184 may have specificcoverage areas and be assigned to handle specific wireless accessnetworks of the system 100. A GGSN refers to a network node responsiblefor the interworking between a GPRS network (e.g., components of theconverged network 130 that support GPRS services and functionality) andexternal packet switched networks, e.g., service network 140, the IMSnetwork 150, and the networks 170. Thus, FIG. 1 illustrates variousconnections between the GGSN 188 and other components of the system 100.In one example, the GPRS portions of the converged network 130 maycomprise an IP/MPLS. In addition, the converged network 130 may includevarious links and interfaces between 2G/3G components and 4G/LTEcomponents for coordination of various services. For instance,connections between the MME 132 and the MSC 182 and between the PDN GW138 and the GGSN 188 are shown in FIG. 1. For ease of illustration,other connections may exist but are omitted from the example system 100of FIG. 1.

In one example, the IMS network 150 may include a proxy call sessioncontrol function (P-CSCF), a serving call session control function(S-CSCF), a billing and traffic (B&T) server, an ENUM (tElephoneNUmbering Mapping) server 168, a domain name service (DNS) server, andother components (not shown). In one example, the service network 140may comprise one or more devices for providing services to subscribers,customers, and or users. For example, the telecommunications serviceprovider network 105 may provide a cloud storage service, web serverhosting, and other services. As such, the service network 140 mayrepresent aspects of telecommunications service provider network 105where infrastructure for supporting such services may be deployed.

In the example of FIG. 1, the converged network 130 may include one ormore application servers (AS) 180. In one example, an AS 180 maycomprise a computing system, such as the computing system 300 depictedin FIG. 3, specifically configured to perform various steps, functions,and/or operations in connection with determining demand and/or trenddata related to media programming, selecting media programming based onthe demand and/or trend. In at least some embodiments the AS 180 and/oranother AS facilitate broadcasting selected media programs via one ormore broadcast channels of a base station, in accordance with thepresent disclosure. In one example, the converged network 130 may alsoinclude a database (DB) 181, e.g., a physical storage device integratedwith the AS 180, or attached or coupled to the AS 180, to store variousinformation regarding media streaming services, users, and/or theirendpoint devices. For instance, the DB 181 may store media program andmetadata regarding the media programs, e.g., information such as thetitles, durations, formats, encoding types, ratings, etc., of the mediaprograms. The DB 181 may also store control information related to thebroadcasting of media programs from base station sites, e.g., the basestations 121-123 in the access network 120. For instance, controlinformation may include selections of broadcast channels to use tobroadcast different media programs via the base stations 121-123 andselections of SSM IP addresses to be associated with the same anddifferent media programs for the various base stations 121-123. In oneexample, metadata and/or control information relating to media programsmay be stored in manifest files that may be retrieved and sent by the AS180 to the MCUs 191-193. In another example, the AS 180 may retrievemetadata and/or control information relating to media programs from theDB 181 and may generate the manifest files before sending the manifestfiles to the MCUs 191-193. In still another example, the AS 180 mayretrieve metadata and/or control information relating to media programsfrom DB 181 and may forward the metadata and/or control information tothe MCUs 191-193, where the MCUs 191-193 may create respective manifestfiles to be broadcast at each of the base station sites/base stations121-123.

The DB 181 may also store data related to demand and/or trend data tosupport selection of media programming for efficient management ofwireless resources based on broadcast and/or multicast distribution ofselected media programs. The DB 181 may also store data/informationregarding management areas of the cellular network 110, media programscurrently being viewed on various endpoint devices, user preferences formedia programs, voting results, member affiliations, search terms and/ormessage traffic, individual user profiles, model user profilesassociated with different management areas, current management areas orother location information of various endpoint devices, (geographical)trajectories of endpoint devices, search statistics regarding variousmedia programs, historical viewership information regarding variousmedia programs viewed via cellular broadcast, historical and/or currentviewership information regarding various media programs viewed via theover-the-air television and/or cable/satellite broadcast systems, and soforth. In one example, the AS 180 may access such information andutilize such information to calculate levels of demand for differentmedia programs in different management areas, and to determine whichmedia programs are to be broadcast via a limited number of broadcastchannels at one or more base stations in one or more management areas ofthe cellular network 110, in accordance with the present disclosure.

In one example, the network(s) 170 may represent one or more enterprisenetworks, a circuit switched network (e.g., a public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN)), a cable network, a digital subscriber line (DSL)network, a metropolitan area network (MAN), an Internet service provider(ISP) network, and the like. In one example, the other networks 170 mayinclude different types of networks. In another example, the othernetworks 170 may be the same type of network. The other networks 170 maycomprise one or more media servers 175, which may be operated by one ormore media providers, and which may provide various types of mediaprograms. In one example, the media servers 175 may comprise one or morecomputing devices for providing media to various recipient devices viamedia streaming sessions. For instance, the media servers 175 maycomprise IP multicast servers for providing streaming media to variousrecipient devices over various networks which may employ the same ordifferent types of communication technologies. In one example, the mediaservers 175 may store complementary or redundant copies of the samemedia programs. Thus, any one or more of the media servers 175 may beselected as a source to stream selected media programs to recipientdevices.

In one example, the media servers 175 may broadcast media programs usingan IP multicast protocol. For instance, one of the media servers 175 maycomprise a source to send a media program to a designated group IPaddress. Recipient devices may then indicate a desire to receive themedia program by sending a join request that indicates the groupaddress. Routers, switches, and other devices in transport paths betweenthe source and various recipient devices may then construct distributiontrees which ingest the media program from the source, replicate themedia program and transmit copies of the media program toward therecipient devices. Thus, for example, the AS 180 may receive the mediaprogram from the one of the media servers 175 by sending a join requestindicating the IP group address for the particular media program, whererouters, switches, gateways, and the like in one or more networksbetween the one of the media servers 175 and AS 180 may route the mediaprogram to AS 180 (and any other recipient devices that join the group)in response to the join request. The AS 180 may then propagate the mediaprogram toward the MCUs 191-193, e.g., via the PDN GW 138 and the SGW134 (e.g., for 4G/LTE service) and/or via the GGSN 188, the SGSN 184,and the BSC/RNC 125 (e.g., for 2G/3G service). For example, the AS 180may generate its own IP multicast stream with the MCUs 191-193 sendingjoin requests to join the group associated with the stream, or the AS180 may unicast the media program to one or more of the MCUs 191-193.

Alternatively, or in addition, the MCUs 191-193 may also send joinrequest indicating the IP group address for the IP multicast streamassociated with the media program sourced from the one of the mediaservers 175. In other words, the MCUs 191-193 may comprise independentrecipient devices associated with the media program that may bemulticast by the one of the media servers 175. In such an example, themedia program may be propagated from the one of the media servers 175 tothe PDN GW 138 and/or the GGSN 188 and onward through the convergednetwork 130 and the access network 120 to the respective MCUs 191-193without the AS 180 serving as a point of re-multicasting. However, insuch an example, the AS 180 may still perform management functionsrelated the broadcasting of the media program via RF broadcast channelsof the respective base stations 121-123. In any of the foregoingexamples, the MCUs 191-193 receive the media program and may thenrebroadcast the media program via RF broadcast channels the via basestations 121-123. In this regard, the MCUs 191-193 may receive the mediaprogram over 2G/3G infrastructure or via 4G/LTE infrastructure, and mayrebroadcast the media program via NodeB portions of the base stations121-123, respectively, or via eNodeB portions of the base stations121-123, respectively.

In accordance with the present disclosure, the cellular network 110 maybe divided into different management areas comprising one or more basestations/cell sites. For instance, in the example of FIG. 1, a firstmanagement area may comprise base stations 121 and 122, while a secondmanagement area may comprise base station 123. In one example, the AS180 may access information from the DB 181, such as data/informationregarding management areas of the cellular network 110, media programscurrently being viewed on various endpoint devices, individual userprofiles, user preferences, current and/or historical user mediaconsumption selections and/or preferences, search terms, affiliations,information obtained from other applications, e.g., social media, modeluser profiles associated with different management areas, currentmanagement areas or other location information of various endpointdevices, (geographical) trajectories of endpoint devices, searchstatistics regarding various media programs, historical viewershipinformation regarding various media programs viewed via cellularbroadcast, historical and/or current viewership information regardingvarious media programs viewed via the over-the-air television and/orcable/satellite broadcast systems, and so forth. The AS 180 may thenutilize such information to calculate levels of aggregate demand fordifferent media programs in the first management area (base stations 121and 122) and in the second management area (base station 123). Inaddition, the AS 180 may determine which media programs are to bebroadcast via a limited number of broadcast channels at the basestations in the respective first management area and second managementarea based upon the levels of aggregate demand, in accordance with thepresent disclosure. For instance, the AS 180 may perform variousoperations that are described in greater detail below in connection withone or more of the example processes 200 of FIGS. 3B-3E.

In one example, the AS 180 may select media programs to be broadcast viathe available broadcast channels and may notify the base station(s)and/or the MCU(s) accordingly. For instance, the AS 180 may send controlplane communications to and receive control plane communications fromthe base stations 121-123 and/or the associated MCUs 191-193 todetermine available RF resources, such as OFDMA resource blocks. In oneexample, for a particular media program, and for a particular one of thebase stations 121-123, the AS 180 may select RF resources for the mediaprogram to be broadcast and may notify the base station and/or the MCUaccordingly. In another example, the AS 180 may select the mediaprograms to be broadcast via the broadcast channels of base stations ofthe respective management areas, but the selection of the actualbroadcast channels/RF resources is left to other devices, such as thebase stations 121-123, the BSC/RNC 125, or the like.

As described above, the base station and/or the associated MCU mayreceive the media programs via a variety of paths through the system100. In any event, the one of the base stations 121-123 and/or the oneof the associated MCUs 191-193 may then rebroadcast the media programsvia the selected RF resources. In another example, the AS 180 maycommunicate with the MME 132 and/or the MSC 182 to indicate an intent tobroadcast one or more media programs via the base stations 121-123. Inturn, the MME 132 and/or the MSC 182 may then communicate with basestations 121-123, the MCUs 191-193, and/or the BSC/RNC 125 to determineavailable RF resources of the respective base stations 121-123, toselect RF resources for broadcasts of various media programs and toinstruct the respective base stations 121-123, the MCUs 191-193, and/orthe BSC/RNC 125 to utilize the RF resources that are selected for therespective media programs.

In addition, as described above, the MCUs 191-193 may be provided withor may generate manifest files associated with media programs that arebeing broadcast or that is to be broadcasted via the base stations121-123, respectively. For example, for one of the base stations121-123, a manifest file may include identification(s) of the mediaprogram(s) (e.g., one or more live audio or video programs) and one ormore source specific multicast (SSM) IP addresses associated with theone or more live audio or video programs. In one example, the manifestfile may include additional information for each media program, such asa duration of the media program, a rating of the media program, aformatting and/or an encoding of the media program, and so on. In oneexample, the respective manifest files may be broadcast via one or morededicated control channels of the base stations 121-123. For example,the one or more dedicated control channels may be designated in advance,and may be known by endpoint devices such that endpoint devices mayobtain manifest files via the relevant control channel(s). For instance,in one example, endpoint devices 160 and 161 may determine the relevantcontrol channel(s) to receive manifest files via out-of-bandcommunications with AS 180, MME 132, and/or MSC 182. In one example, thecontrol channel(s) for broadcasting manifest files may be selected bythe AS 180, the MME 132 and/or the MSC 182 in the same or in a similarmanner as described above in connection with the selection of RFresources for broadcasting the actual media program.

The endpoint devices 160 and 161 may receive the manifest files from oneor more of the base stations 121-123 and may then present informationregarding available media programs for the users of such devices. Forinstance, the endpoint devices 160 and 161 may present titles, start andend times, durations, ratings, short descriptions, and so forthpertaining to the media programs that are identified in the manifestfile(s). The endpoint devices 160 and 161 may present the informationvia a display screen or via audio output. The endpoint devices 160 and161 may also receive selections of media programs from users and/orapplications of the endpoint devices. For instance, a user of endpointdevice 160 may select media program “X” which is indicated to bebroadcast. In response to such a selection, the endpoint device 160 mayretrieve a SSM IP address of the selected media program from themanifest file obtained from one of the base stations 121-123. Forinstance, the endpoint device may select the SSM IP address from themanifest file of the one of the base stations 121-123 that is theclosest to the endpoint device 160 or that presents the highestsignal-to-noise ratio, or based upon a similar criteria. In one example,the endpoint device may send a “subscribe” request that includes the SSMIP address assigned to the media program in order to subscribe to theparticular media program.

The “subscribe” request may be sent to the one of the base stations121-123, the MMUs 191-193, the MME 132, the MSC 182, or the AS 180,depending upon the particular architecture or network configuration anddepending upon which component is responsible for the selection and/orthe assignment of RF resources to the media programs. In response to the“subscribe” request, one of the base stations 121-123, the MMUs 191-193,the MME 132, the MSC 182, or the AS 180 may then determine the RFresources of the one of the base stations 121-123 on which the mediaprogram associated with the SSM IP address is being broadcast, and maysend a response indicating to the endpoint device 160 the particular RFresources on which the media program is being broadcast via the one ofthe base stations 121-123.

In one example, any one or more devices receiving the “subscribe”request may verify that the endpoint device 160 is permitted to receivethe media program. For instance, certain media programs may berestricted to certain subscribers, e.g., based upon whether thesubscriber has paid to receive the media program(s), based upon an ageof the subscriber, etc. For instance, a parent that owns an endpointdevice, e.g., a subscriber, may indicate to the cellular network 105that the endpoint device 161 is for use by the subscriber's child andshould not receive media programs via cellular broadcast. Thus, a“subscribe” request from such a device may be denied. In one example,the response may include an encryption key or the like to allow theendpoint device 160 to access the media program(s), e.g., when thesubscriber and/or the endpoint device is authorized to receive the mediaprogram(s) that are broadcast. The endpoint device 160 may then tune theRF resources identified, receive a media program that is broadcast viathe RF resources, and present the media program at the endpoint device160.

In one example, the device receiving the “subscribe” request may forwarda notification of the “subscribe” request to the AS 180, which may storethe information regarding “subscribe” request in the DB 181. In oneexample, the AS 180 may further retrieve this information from the DB181 for use in determining a level of aggregate demand in the firstmanagement area and/or the second management area for the particularmedia program that is the subject of the “subscribe” request.

The system 100 may also provide for continuity of an endpoint devicereceiving a media program as the endpoint device moves from one locationto another, or as the radio environment changes. For example, endpointdevice 160 may obtain different manifest files from each of the basestations 121-123. The same media program may be identified in thedifferent manifest files, but may have a different SSM IP addressesassociated with the media program. In addition, the different RFresources may be utilized for broadcasting the same media program viadifferent ones of the base stations 121-123. To illustrate, the endpointdevice 161 may receive a media program via a first set of RF resourceblocks from the base station 121. However, the endpoint device 161 maybe moving toward the base station 122, such that a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI), or the like, of the base station 122 mayincrease to the point that the RSSI of the base station 122 becomesgreater than the RSSI of the base station 121. At this time, theendpoint device 161 may send a “subscribe” request that includes the SSMIP address assigned to the media program with respect to the basestation 122. The “subscribe” request may be sent to the base station122, the MMU 192, the MME 132, the MSC 182, or the AS 180, dependingupon the particular architecture or network configuration and dependingupon which component is responsible for the selection and/or theassignment of RF resources to the media program. In response to the“subscribe” request, the base station 122, the MMU 192, the MME 132, theMSC 182, or the AS 180 may then determine the RF resources of the basestation 122 on which the media program is being broadcast, and may senda response indicating to the endpoint device 161 the particular RFresources on which the media program is being broadcast via the basestation 122. The endpoint device 160 may then tune to the RF resourcesidentified, and continue to receive the media program via the RFresources of the base station 122. A similar process may be followed asthe endpoint device 161 moves away from the base station 122 toward thebase station 123.

In one example, the response may further include an encryption key toallow the endpoint device 161 to access the media program via the basestation 122. For instance, it may first be verified whether the endpointdevice 161 is authorized to receive the media program via the basestation 122, and if so, the encryption key may be provided in theresponse. Notably, even though the endpoint device 161 may be authorizedto receive the media program via the base station 121, it may notautomatically be the case that the endpoint device 161 is alsoauthorized to receive the media program via the base station 122. Forexample, some content may have a geographic restriction such that anendpoint device is not permitted to receive the media program whenoutside of a particular area, notwithstanding that other endpointdevices may be permitted to receive the same media program outside ofsuch an area. In addition, such geographic restrictions may or may notbe coterminous with management areas of the cellular network 110.

In the example of FIG. 1, and as described above, the cellular network110 may include at least a first management area comprising the basestations 121 and 122, and a second management area comprising the basestation 123. In one example, the AS 180 may track the locations andtrajectories for endpoint devices, including the endpoint devices 160and 161. The locations may be tracked by receiving GPS locationinformation of endpoint devices at the AS 180, or by the AS 180subscribing to location data of the endpoint devices which are trackedand stored by another component of the cellular network 110, such as theHSS 136, the MME 132, etc. The trajectories may be calculated fromchanging location information of an endpoint device over time. In oneexample, the trajectories of endpoint devices may be determined bymaintaining an adjacency graph of nodes comprising base stations/cellsites, and determining that an endpoint device may enter any cell sitethat is adjacent to the current cell site, for instance. In one example,a distinction may be made for endpoint devices that are determined to bein motion, versus those that are stationary. In other examples,trajectories of endpoint devices may be determined in various otherways, such as endpoint devices estimating their own directions ofmovement and velocities, and reporting such information to the AS 180and/or other components of the cellular network 110. When a trajectoryindicates that an endpoint device will be leaving one management areaand entering another, the AS 180 may update calculations of aggregatedemand for different media programs in the respective management areas.Further details regarding such operations are described in greaterdetail below in connection with the example processes 310, 320, 330, 340of FIGS. 3B-3E.

It should be noted that the system 100 has been simplified. In otherwords, the system 100 may be implemented in a different form than thatwhich is illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, the system 100 may beexpanded to include additional networks, such as network operationscenter (NOC) networks and additional access networks, as well asadditional base stations, management areas, and so forth. The system 100may also be expanded to include additional network elements such asborder elements, routers, switches, policy servers, security devices,gateways, a content distribution network (CDN), and the like, withoutaltering the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, system 100may be altered to omit various elements, substitute elements for devicesthat perform the same or similar functions, combine elements that areillustrated as separate devices, and/or implement network elements asfunctions that are spread across several devices that operatecollectively as the respective network elements. For instance, in oneexample, the MCUs 191-193 may be integrated within the respective basestations 121-123. Similarly, although the AS 180 and the DB 181 areillustrated as components of the service network 140, and the mediaservers 175 are illustrated as components within the networks 170, inother examples, any one or more of these components may be deployed in adifferent configuration. For example, the AS 180 and the DB 181 may bedeployed within the IMS network 150, within the converged network 130,within the access network 120, and so on.

In addition, FIG. 1 illustrates a single AS 180 (and DB 181) that isdescribed as being configured to perform various steps, functions,and/or operations in connection with broadcasting a media program via abroadcast channel of a base station based upon a level of aggregatedemand, in accordance with the present disclosure. In particular, the AS180 is described as performing operations for managing streaming mediacellular broadcast in the first management area comprising the basestations 121 and 122 as well as in the second management area comprisingthe base station 123. However, in another example, the first managementarea and the second management area may have separate “management”devices (and respective databases) for performing the same or similaroperations as the AS 180. In such an example, the respective managementdevices may communicate with one another to share various types ofinformation regarding the respective management areas, and the usersand/or mobile devices associated with the management areas. Forinstance, a first management device of the first coverage area may shareinformation regarding what media program is currently tuned to by theendpoint device 160 (e.g., as the endpoint device 160 is detected to beleaving the first management area and entering the second managementarea by either the first management device or a second management deviceof the second coverage area). Similarly, in another example, any one ormore of the MCUs 191-193 may be configured to perform various steps,functions, and/or operations in connection with broadcasting a mediaprogram via a broadcast channel of a base station based upon a level ofaggregate demand, e.g., as an alternative or in addition to AS 180. Forinstance, the MCU 191 may perform operations for managing streamingmedia cellular broadcast for the first management area comprising thebase stations 191 and 192, while the MCU 193 may perform operations formanaging streaming media cellular broadcast for the second managementarea comprising the base station 123.

In addition, various elements of the access network 120, the convergednetwork 130, and the IMS network 150 are omitted for clarity, includinggateways or border elements providing connectivity between suchnetworks, internal routers within the converged network 130, and so on.Similarly, due to the relatively large number of connections availablebetween devices in the system 100, various links between the MME 132,the SGW 134, the base stations 121-123, the MCUs 191-193, the SMSC 180,the PDN GW 138, the SMSG 180, and other components of system 100 arealso omitted for clarity. Moreover, although aspects of the presentdisclosure have been discussed above in the context of a convergednetwork with GSM/TDMA-based, GPRS/CDMA-based, and LTE/OFDMA-basedcomponents, examples of the present disclosure are not so limited. Forexample, the teachings of the present disclosure can be applied tonetworks and systems that use other types of wireless/cellulartechnologies, such as enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE),IS-95, or a future technology or standard-based network, e.g., a 5Gnetwork, and so forth. Similarly, although aspects of the presentdisclosure have been discussed above in the context of SSM IP streamingmedia cellular broadcast, in other, further, and different examples,other types of cellular broadcast technologies may be utilized. Thus,these and other modifications are all contemplated within the scope ofthe present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram is shown illustrating anexample, non-limiting embodiment of a communications network 200 inaccordance with various aspects described herein. In particular, acommunications network 225 is presented for providing broadband access210 to a plurality of data terminals 214 via access terminal 212,wireless access 220 to a plurality of mobile devices 224 and vehicle 226via base station or access point 222, voice access 230 to a plurality oftelephony devices 234, via switching device 232 and/or media access 240to a plurality of audio/video display devices 244 via media terminal242. In addition, communication network 225 is coupled to one or morecontent sources 275 of audio, video, graphics, text and/or other media.While broadband access 210, wireless access 220, voice access 230 andmedia access 240 are shown separately, one or more of these forms ofaccess can be combined to provide multiple access services to a singleclient device (e.g., mobile devices 224 can receive media content viamedia terminal 242, data terminal 214 can be provided voice access viaswitching device 232, and so on).

The communications network 225 includes a plurality of network elements(NE) 250, 252, 254, etc. for facilitating the broadband access 210,wireless access 220, voice access 230, media access 240 and/or thedistribution of content from content sources 275. In some embodiments,one or more of the network elements can include a stream selector 256supporting a stream selection function. For example, the stream selector256 determines demand and/or trend data for one or more wireless accessterritories or cells. The stream selector 256 can be adapted toimplement all or at least portions of one or more of the streamselection processes disclosed herein, such as those processes 310, 320,330, 340, disclosed in FIGS. 3B-3E.

The communications network 225 can include a circuit switched or packetswitched network, a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) network,Internet protocol (IP) network, a cable network, a passive or activeoptical network, a 4G, 5G, or higher generation wireless access network,WIMAX network, UltraWideband network, personal area network or otherwireless access network, a broadcast satellite network and/or othercommunications network.

In various embodiments, the access terminal 212 can include a digitalsubscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM), cable modem terminationsystem (CMTS), optical line terminal (OLT) and/or other access terminal.The data terminals 214 can include personal computers, laptop computers,netbook computers, tablets or other computing devices along with digitalsubscriber line (DSL) modems, data over coax service interfacespecification (DOCSIS) modems or other cable modems, a wireless modemsuch as a 4G, 5G, or higher generation modem, an optical modem and/orother access devices.

In various embodiments, the base station or access point 222 can includea 4G, 5G, or higher generation base station, an access point thatoperates via an 802.11 standard such as 802.11n, 802.11ac or otherwireless access terminal. The mobile devices 224 can include mobilephones, e-readers, tablets, phablets, wireless modems, and/or othermobile computing devices.

In various embodiments, the switching device 232 can include a privatebranch exchange or central office switch, a media services gateway, VoIPgateway or other gateway device and/or other switching device. Thetelephony devices 234 can include traditional telephones (with orwithout a terminal adapter), VoIP telephones and/or other telephonydevices.

In various embodiments, the media terminal 242 can include a cablehead-end or other TV head-end, a satellite receiver, gateway or othermedia terminal 242. The display devices 244 can include televisions withor without a set top box, personal computers and/or other displaydevices.

In various embodiments, the content sources 275 include broadcasttelevision and radio sources, video on demand platforms and streamingvideo and audio services platforms, one or more content data networks,data servers, web servers and other content servers, and/or othersources of media.

In various embodiments, the communications network 225 can includewired, optical and/or wireless links and the network elements 250, 252,254, 256, etc. can include service switching points, signal transferpoints, service control points, network gateways, media distributionhubs, servers, firewalls, routers, edge devices, switches and othernetwork nodes for routing and controlling communications traffic overwired, optical and wireless links as part of the Internet and otherpublic networks as well as one or more private networks, for managingsubscriber access, for billing and network management and for supportingother network functions.

Multicast technologies may include any technologies for transmittingdata for a set of destinations. Many techniques described herein aredescribed with respect to unicast and broadcast technologies in generalor with respect to particular unicast and broadcast technologies.However, techniques are generally applicable to a wide variety oftransport types. For example, techniques may be applicable to an IPmulticast arrangement in which a receiver elects to receive packets. Asanother example, techniques may be applicable to a broadcast arrangementin which a receiver can tune into a particular frequency or othercontent source to receive data. Accordingly, transport types such asmulticast may be alternatives to broadcast or unicast or may be includedwithin the scope of broadcast or unicast, depending on the particulartechnologies or network being used.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) unicast streaming is a convenientmechanism for distributing both media content such as near-livestreaming video and video clip content. Individual streams are selectedand transported to each user. In contrast to progressive download, mediacontent is partitioned into fragments or segments that are delivered asseparate files or byte-ranges of a bigger file. A variety of fragmentstreams can be encoded at different quality levels to allow selectionamong variants in near real-time. The uniform resource locators (URLs)of the segments are typically provided in a manifest file which eithercontains a template URL pattern or an explicit list of segment URLs.Fragment-based streaming can leverage existing HTTP servers and contentdelivery network (CDN) networks and cause considerably fewer problemswith firewalls compared to RTP streaming. There is therefore a trend ofmoving away from Real Time Streaming Protocol/Real-time TransportProtocol (RTSP/RTP)-based streaming towards HTTP streaming. Strongefforts in this direction include HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) and 3GPP'sand MPEG's DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP).

RTP-based multicast streaming over broadcast networks remains prevalentin particular environments. 3GPP's Multimedia Broadcast MulticastServices (MBMS) standard has relied on RTP-based streaming for videodistribution. In addition, there is a download/file-distribution mode inMBMS using the File Delivery over Unidirectional Transport (FLUTE)protocol, still using IP multicast. Example use cases for this includedistribution of electronic program guide data and data files, such assports statistics. With the introduction of MBMS in 4th generationcellular LTE networks, interest in MBMS is increasing, particular in arendition referred to as “eMBMS”. The live video distribution mechanismusing RTP is still in the standard, but eMBMS allows MBMS to distributevideo and other continuous media using DASH-compatible media andmetadata packetization. There is thus a means for broadcast distributionof DASH in addition to the standard unicast HTTP based distribution ofDASH.

FIG. 3A depicts an illustrative embodiment of communication network 300adapted to select and distribute media content including streaming mediaprograms in accordance with various aspects described herein. Thecommunication network includes a media delivery system 301, a database302 and a content delivery network 303. The media delivery systemaccesses media content via the database 302 and provides the mediacontent to the content delivery network 303 for delivery to mobile userequipment 306 a, 306 b, 306 c, generally 306. The content deliverynetwork 303 supports wireless distribution of the media content in oneor more coverage areas 304 a, 304 b, 304 c, generally 304. Wirelessdistribution can be accomplished by one or more wireless access points305 a, 305 b, 305 c, generally 305.

According to the illustrative embodiment, a first coverage area 304 aprovides wireless service to a first group of user equipment 306 a byway of a first wireless access point 305 a. Likewise, a second coveragearea 304 b provides wireless service to a second group of user equipment306 b by way of a second wireless access point 305 b, a third coveragearea 304 c provides wireless service to a third group of user equipment306 c by way of a third wireless access point 305 c, and so on. Withoutrestriction, the wireless access points can provide wireless serviceaccording to one of a licensed spectrum allocation, e.g., a mobilecellular service, unlicensed spectrum, e.g., WiFi, or some combinationof licensed and unlicensed spectrum.

In at least some applications, a wireless service capacity in one ormore of the coverage areas 304 is subject to a respective capacitylimit. Without restriction, wireless service capacity limits can besubject to finite availability of licensed spectrum accessible by thecontent delivery network 303 within respective coverage areas 304. It isunderstood that portions and/or quantities licensed spectrum may be thesame or different across the different coverage areas 304. Alternativelyor in addition, wireless service capacity limits can be subject toallocations of available licensed spectrum, e.g., portions of theavailable licensed spectrum allocated for broadcast versus otherservices, e.g., unicast, operation and maintenance, overhead. It isfurther understood that at least some user equipment 306 of any one ormore of the groups of user equipment can be mobile within and/or acrossthe coverage areas 304. It is conceivable that in at least somescenarios, a user equipment 306 can be within an overlapping coveragearea 304 in which the user equipment 306 can access wireless servicescontemporaneously by more than one of the wireless access points 305.

The media delivery system 301 can access media content from a database302 and/or from other sources, such as content providers. The mediadelivery service 301 can make a selection of media content available tothe user equipment via the content and provides the media content to thecontent delivery network 303. User equipment may access one or moremedia content items of the selection of media content according to oneor more techniques including, without limitation, unicast and broadcast,wherein broadcast can include multicast. In a unicast distribution, themedia content is effectively provided through dedicated resources, e.g.,dedicated resource blocks of a 3GPP Long Term Evolution system to anindividual user equipment 306. To the extent more than one userequipment 306 within a common coverage area 304 have requested the samemedia content item at approximately the same time, separate resources,including separate spectrum resources would be used to service the samecontent. Broadcast and/or multicast provides an ability to allocatecommon spectrum resources to multiple user equipment 306.

It is understood that some media content, e.g., that having broad appealto more than one user, may be suitable for broadcast/multicastdistribution. It is also conceivable that other media content and/ormobile services will be dedicated to individual user equipment 306. Inorder to manage a balance between unicast and broadcast/multicast, thecontent delivery network can allocate a first portion of its resources,e.g., licensed spectrum or resource blocks to unicast service, and asecond portion to a broadcast and/or multicast service. Even if allavailable resources were allocated to broadcast and/or multicast, therewould be some limit to a number of media content items, e.g., programsthat could be transferred or otherwise streamed during any given period.

The stream selector 307 selects a group of media content items from theavailable contents as broadcast and/or multicast content. The streamselector provides an input to the media delivery system 301 to identifythe group of media content items selected as broadcast and/or multicastcontent. The media deliver system 301, in turn, allocates the group ofmedia content items to broadcast and/or multicast distribution channels,e.g., including one or more of resource blocks, frequency bands, timeslots, and the like. The content delivery network 303, upon instructionreceived from the media delivery system 301 associates availablebroadcast and/or multicast channels with the selected group of mediacontent items. In some embodiments, each defined area 304 includes arespective allocation of media content to broadcast and/or multicastchannels based on one or more of available capacity, user demand,network conditions, and so on. It is understood that respectivebroadcast and/or multicast allocations of different coverage areas 304may be identical, or different. To the extent there are differences,there may be some overlap, e.g., some media content that is allocatedfor broadcast and/or multicast on more than one coverage areas.Alternatively or in addition, there may be no overlap, such that nocommon media content items are broadcast and/or multicast withindifferent coverage areas.

Over time, end users or Content Consumers (CC) of any content deliverysystem will generate Demand Data (DD) and/or Trend Data (TD). Demanddata can captured as it is created by the users. Trend Data can beinferred based on other system data about the users, and/or createdexternally based on expectations of user demand. Integration of DD andTD into the media delivery system 301 and stream selector components 307of a network 100, such as a Cellular Broadcast System makes thosesystems more efficient for the network and more intuitive and attractivefor the users.

In at least some embodiments, the stream selector 307 implements astream selection process. The process can identify and/or estimateconsumer demand and make selections of available media content based onthe demand. The demand can include identification of media content beingconsumed by one or more of the groups of user equipment 306. Forexample, the communication network 300 can include a media deliverysystem (MDS) data collector 308. The MDS data collector 308 can receiveinformation from one or more of the wireless access terminals 305 thatidentifies a measure of user consumption. For example, user equipment306 may consume media content in a context of a mobile application. Themobile application may employ some measure of authorization and/oridentification to identify particular user equipment 306 and/or useraccounts associated with the user equipment 306. The wireless accessterminals 305 may collect media content selections, e.g., in the contextof the application, and provide the selections to one or more of thestream selector 307 and the media delivery system 301.

One or more of the stream selector 307 and the media delivery system 301alone or in combination can process demand data obtained from one ormore of the user equipment 306, the wireless access points 305 and theMDS data collector 308. The stream selector 307 and/or the mediadelivery system 301 and/or the MDS system data 308 can be adapted toimplement all or at least portions of one or more of the streamselection processes disclosed herein, such as those processes 310, 320,330, 340, disclosed in FIGS. 3B-3E. In at least some embodiments, thedemand data is used to associate a level of current demand with one ormore available media content items or programs. The stream selector 307can rank order the available programs, e.g., most demanded to leastdemanded. In some embodiments, a histogram can be applied based onfrequency of demand and the like. Alternatively or in addition, demandcan be estimated or otherwise predicted based on past demand and/orconsumption data. It is understood that various processing techniquescan be applied to demand data. For example, statistics can be applied todetermine averages, means, modes and/or standard deviations.Alternatively or in addition, algorithms can be applied to determineprobabilities of demand at any current instant of time and/or futureinstant of time.

Usage data can be based on actual usage of available channels. It can beinstantaneous and/or temporal. Instantaneous usage data provides ameasure, e.g., a “snapshot” of current content usage of a group ofusers. Temporal usage data can be determined according to a statisticalprocess applied to usage data of a group of users obtained over time. Inat least some embodiments, temporal usage can be formed according to ananalysis of the instantaneous usage over time and/or derived from otherinternal or external sources. Preferential demand data can includedemand data based on identified and/or predicted or estimatedpreferences of the content consumers. Preferential demand data mayincorporate some trend data as, in practice, there may be someconfluence between demand data and trend data.

In at least some embodiments demand data can be based, at least in part,on PDD gathered and/or otherwise concluded from one or more of theinternal media delivery systems (MDS) 301, the MDS data 308 and/orassociated application search results. Alternatively or in additiondemand data can be determined according to data obtained from one ormore other systems 309. For example, preferential demand data can begathered, inferred and/or otherwise concluded from external searchsystems data when available and/or applicable.

For example, a number of times a media content item is searched within adelivery application, e.g., internal to the media delivery system 301,the search result can be recorded and/or otherwise tabulated forcombination with and/or comparison against searches for other mediacontent items. Those search results occurring more frequently, e.g.,those with the highest values, can be translated to demand data, whichgive the highest searched content items a higher weight in analgorithmic use and thus a higher priority as an available streamselected by a stream selection process of the stream selector 307.

It is understood that the any of the techniques for determining demandcan be based on particular media content items. Alternatively or inaddition, the techniques for determining demand can be based on one ormore other factors, such as media content categories and/or genres. Forexample, movies versus documentaries, or comedies versus sportingevents, and so on. Thus demand data for particular media content itemscan be associated with one or more related factors, such as categories,genres, actors/casts, producers, time periods, e.g., reruns versus newprogramming, and the like. Likewise, demand data for one or more of theother factors can be associated with available media content items.

In another example, a high frequency of news items being searched oraccessed from an external search provider (e.g., Yahoo®, Google®) can betranslated into DD such that news programming channels and/or mediacontent items would have a higher weight in an algorithm and thus ahigher priority as an available stream according to selection algorithmsimplemented in one or more of the media delivery system 301 and streamselector 307. In some embodiments, the demand can be associated withspecific programs, e.g., ABC Evening News and/or categories, e.g., newsin general, national news, local news.

In at least some applications the stream selection processes includesolicitation, e.g., vote based data. Vote based data seeks live userinput to demand data. Voting data becomes a form of preferential demanddata and is used to influence the media delivery system 301. In someembodiments, voting can occur, for example, within a content deliveryapplication or within an external application such as a social mediaapplication.

It is understood that voting can be solicited in the form of optionaland/or required voting. Voting can be routine, e.g., occurring in aregular and/or ongoing manner, such as in association with a votingwindow before and/or during a pre-programmed stream. Accordingly, votingis one effective way to provide demand data and establish streamselection resolution to the system.

In some embodiments, voting can be initiated if there is a conflict ofavailability. For example, such conflicts in a delivery system canresult from users moving through different cell areas. Accordingly, usermobility, e.g., cell handoff events, can trigger a vote event. Thetrigger can include user mobility alone or in combination with changesin demand of cells that may result from user mobility.

In another example, there is similar demand for a number of popularprograms greater than the number of available channels in an area of thedelivery system, and a vote can be triggered to resolve the contention.

Other examples can use wider cast vote requests to establish popularitydata for programs and therefore make wider general selections ofavailable content over time when voting requests data is minimal or notavailable. Accordingly, voting can be based on individual cells and/orsectors, groups of cells and/or sectors, geographic areas, areasdetermined according to geopolitical boundaries, arbitrary regions,e.g., according to geometric patterns, demographic regions,neighborhoods. In at least some embodiments, wider cast votes caninclude an entire network.

FIG. 3B depicts an illustrative embodiment of a media content selectionprocess 310 in accordance with various aspects described herein. At step311, media content is identified. Identified media content can includeall media content available to a media service provider. The identifiedmedia content can be further limited according to date and/or time,media categories, e.g., streaming audio versus streaming video,subscription levels, e.g., standard, premium, quality, e.g., SD, HD, 4K,program lineups, and so on.

At step 312, a determination can be made as to whether the identifiedmedia content should be distributed via unicast or broadcast/multicast.For example, certain programs such as live sporting events, or news, canbe associated with a broadcast/multicast distribution as a default.Similarly, some or all content can be associated with unicast as adefault. Alternatively or in addition, a stream selector can make adetermination as to which media content should be associated withbroadcast/multicast service. To the extent it is determined todistribute the media content via unicast, the content is associated withunicast resources at step 313. To the extent it is determined todistribute the identified media content via broadcast/multicast, adetermination is made at step 314, as to whether there is sufficientbroadcast/multicast channel capacity.

To the extent that there is there is sufficient broadcast/multicastchannel capacity, the identified media content is associated withbroadcast/multicast resources at step 315. To the extent that there isthere is insufficient broadcast/multicast channel capacity, a demandcontention process occurs at step 316. Sufficiency of available capacitycan be determined according to measured spectral data, calculated and/orestimated usage, or combinations thereof. A subset of the identifiedmedia content is selected at step 317, according to results of thedemand contention process. The selected subset of media content isassociated with broadcast/multicast resources at 318.

It is understood that in at least some embodiments, the media contentselection process 310 can be implemented periodically. For example, theprocess 310 can be implemented according to a schedule, e.g., accordingto a time schedule, such as weekly, daily, hourly, quarter hourly, andso on. Alternatively or in addition, the process 310 can be implementedaccording to a program schedule, e.g., at streaming media programstart/stop intervals, prior to program schedules and/or during airing ofprograms. In at least some embodiments, the process 310 can beimplemented according to events, such as user mobility, user activity,external events, e.g., weather events, geopolitical events, based onresults of a live event, such as a sporting event progress, outcomeand/or overtime status, and so on.

FIG. 3C depicts an illustrative embodiment of a demand content process320, e.g., demand content process 316 (FIG. 3B) in accordance withvarious aspects described herein. At step 321, a contention foravailable selection of broadcast programs within a fairly static area isidentified. Demand data and/or trend data is analyzed at step 324.

In at least some embodiments, a determination is made at step 323 as towhether a vote is necessary. In at least some embodiments, adetermination about whether a vote is necessary can be based onavailable data, e.g., trend data, prior estimates of demand, priorvotes, and the like. If such data is available, and deemed to berelatively current or “fresh”, then available demand/trend data can beused to avoid the burden of a vote event. To the extent it is determinedthat a vote is necessary, a vote selection is formed at step 324, avoting event is initiated at step 325 and vote results are collected andanalyzed at step 326. Without limitation, vote selection can be based onone or more of available media content, current associations of mediacontent with broadcast/multicast service, current demand, predictions,trends and so on. The vote selection can identify one or more mediacontent items, e.g., streaming media programs, to be voted on. A simplevote can include selection of a particular program formulticast/broadcast association, a choice between different programs formulticast/broadcast association and/or a rank ordering of a number ofprograms.

Results of the analysis are provided to one of a media delivery systemand/or a stream selector at step 327. At step 328, the media deliverysystem changes available program selection based on analysis results andoptionally other data.

According to the illustrative process 330, the analysis of demand dataand/or trend data at step 333 occurs before a vote 334-336. It isunderstood that in at least some embodiments, the same analysis ofdemand data and/or trend data at step 333 can be repeated, or anadditional analysis of demand data and/or trend data can be includedafter collection and analysis of the voting results at step 336. In someembodiments, the collecting and analyzing of results data at 336 caninclude one or more of the same analyses of demand data and/or trenddata at step 333.

Analysis of demand data, and/or trend data and/or voting results caninclude one or more analytical techniques. Analytical techniques caninclude, without limitation, a tally or count or similar measure ofdemand for one or more media content items. Preferential demand can beused alone or in combination with other data, such as trend data anddata obtained from other systems, e.g., social media. Different types ofdemand and/or trend data can be combined according to an algorithm,e.g., have equal weights, or different weights. Alternatively or inaddition, different types of demand data can be used to the exclusion ofother demand data. For example, when instantaneous demand is available,it can be used to the exclusion of trend data.

It is understood that in at least some embodiments, limits can beapplied. For example, if instantaneous demand is above a demandthreshold, then use the instantaneous demand to the exclusion of trenddata. Alternatively or in addition, if preferential demand is below apredetermined demand threshold, then exclude preferential demand, ordiscount its prevalence when combined with other date, such as trenddata.

FIG. 3D depicts an illustrative embodiment of a demand content process330, e.g., demand content process 316 (FIG. 3B) in accordance withvarious aspects described herein. The process 330 is directed to an areademand vote. At step 332, mobility of a user is examined to determinethat the user has moved into an area with a different demand and/orselection of broadcast programs. Demand data and/or trend data isanalyzed at step 334.

In at least some embodiments, a determination is made at step 333 as towhether a vote is necessary. In at least some embodiments, adetermination whether a vote is necessary can base based on availabledata, e.g., trend data, prior estimates of demand, prior votes, and thelike. If such data is available, and deemed to be relatively current or“fresh” then available demand/trend data can be used to avoid the burdenof a vote event. To the extent it is determined that a vote isnecessary, a vote selection is formed at step 334, a voting event isinitiated at step 335 and vote results are collected and analyzed atstep 336.

Results of the analysis are provided to one of a media delivery systemand/or a stream selector at step 337. At step 338, the media deliverysystem changes available program selection based on analysis results andoptionally other data.

FIG. 3E depicts an illustrative embodiment of a triggered, streamselection process 340, e.g., demand content process 316 (FIG. 3B) inaccordance with various aspects described herein. The process 340 isdirected to a wide cast vote, e.g., applied in multiple service areas,such as multiple cells and/or sectors of a mobile cellular network. Atstep 342, a trigger is encountered. The trigger can be used to obtainsystem demand for user preference and/or demand data. A vote selectionis formed at step 343, a voting event is initiated at step 344 and voteresults are collected and/or analyzed at step 345.

Analysis of the demand and/or trend data is performed at step 346.Analysis can be performed according to one or more analyticaltechniques, such as any of the various example techniques disclosedherein.

Results of the analysis are provided to one of a media delivery systemand/or a stream selector at step 347. At step 348, the media deliverysystem determines whether current changes are applicable or whether theanalysis results should applied to later use. To the extent it isdetermined that the analysis results should be used currently,associations of available program selections with broadcast/multicastservices are applied at step 349. As the process 340 relies upon widecast voting, it is understood that associations of available programselections with broadcast/multicast services can be applied to one ormore cells and/or sectors. It is further understood that the particularresults applied to the different cells and/or sectors can be the same,have some common associations and/or be independent and/or entirelydifferent. Changes to available program selection may be based onanalysis results and optionally other data. To the extent it isdetermined that the analysis results should be applied to later use,decision data is stored and/or forwarded, e.g., to cell sites, for lateruse and/or for analytics at step 350.

While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the respectiveprocesses are shown and described as a series of blocks in FIGS. 3B-E,it is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matteris not limited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks may occur indifferent orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from what isdepicted and described herein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks maybe required to implement the methods described herein.

FIG. 3F is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a system 360 functioning within the communication networkof FIGS. 1, 2 and 3A in accordance with various aspects describedherein. The system 360 determines demand and/or trend data from one ormore sources and provides the demand and/or trend data to a streamselector 362. The stream selector implements one or more algorithms toselect streams for association with broadcast/multicast service.Identification of the selected stream(s) is provided to a media deliverysystem 361. The media delivery system 361, in turn, implementsbroadcast/multicast service for the selected stream(s).

According to the illustrative example, demand data 363 can be determinedaccording to one or more of vote-based data 365, preferential demanddata 364 and/or temporal usage data 366. Temporal usage data can bedetermined at least in part according to instantaneous usage data, e.g.,data obtained from available channels of a media delivery system 361. Inat least some embodiments, the demand data can be based on group data368. Group data, in turn, can be based on data obtained according tointerest based groups 369 and/or data obtained according todeterministic groups 370.

Group data 368 can be influential to the system 360 as demand data 363and/or trend data 361, e.g., when used in a deterministic manner. Thisis possible when the system 360 groups users based according topredetermined distinguishing factors. External or internal data can beused to allow the system 360 to group users. It is understood that userscan be part of multiple groups. Group subscription may be voluntary orinvoluntary. Examples include: Interest based groups—users with similarinterests such as a content type, artistic interests, musical interests,cinematography, fandom, famous directors, personal interests. Accordingto deterministic groups 370, users are segmented by defined ordetermined factors. Examples include user selection history, usersubscribed group selection history, matching group trend data, votinghistory, age, gender, educational background, professional associations,address, etc. These groups may be self-identified by a participatinguser or inferred by user data, etc.

As inferred by the examples, these sub-components can be usedindividually or in combination to provide a precise, controlled, andcustomizable experience to a user within a broadcast system whereexisting and/or variable factors including location, network, system,demand, trend, and other factors can be combined with Content DeliveryNetwork provider's needs based on their business models and contractualagreements to provide a consistently flexible, interesting and dynamiclist of content to the user.

In at least some embodiments, the stream selector 362 receives inputbased on trend data 361. Trend data can be based on group data 368and/or other external data 371. Other external data can include one ormore of newsfeeds, network status, trending topics on other systems, andso on.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a block diagram 400 is shown illustrating anexample, non-limiting embodiment of a virtualized communication networkin accordance with various aspects described herein. In particular avirtualized communication network is presented that can be used toimplement some or all of the subsystems and functions of communicationnetwork 100, the subsystems and functions of system 200, the subsystemsand functions of communication network 300, the subsystems and functionsof system 360, presented in FIGS. 1, 2, 3A and 3F and the processes 310,320, 330, 340 presented in FIGS. 3B, 3C, 3D and 3E.

In particular, a cloud networking architecture is shown that leveragescloud technologies and supports rapid innovation and scalability via atransport layer 450, a virtualized network function cloud 425 and/or oneor more cloud computing environments 475. In various embodiments, thiscloud networking architecture is an open architecture that leveragesapplication programming interfaces (APIs); reduces complexity fromservices and operations; supports more nimble business models; andrapidly and seamlessly scales to meet evolving customer requirementsincluding traffic growth, diversity of traffic types, and diversity ofperformance and reliability expectations.

In contrast to traditional network elements—which are typicallyintegrated to perform a single function, the virtualized communicationnetwork employs virtual network elements 430, 432, 434, 436 etc. thatperform some or all of the functions of network elements 250, 252, 254,256, etc. For example, the network architecture can provide a substrateof networking capability, often called Network Function VirtualizationInfrastructure (NFVI) or simply infrastructure that is capable of beingdirected with software and Software Defined Networking (SDN) protocolsto perform a broad variety of network functions and services. Thisinfrastructure can include several types of substrates. The most typicaltype of substrate being servers that support Network FunctionVirtualization (NFV), followed by packet forwarding capabilities basedon generic computing resources, with specialized network technologiesbrought to bear when general purpose processors or general purposeintegrated circuit devices offered by merchants (referred to herein asmerchant silicon) are not appropriate. In this case, communicationservices can be implemented as cloud-centric workloads.

As an example, a traditional network element 250 (shown in FIG. 2), suchas an edge router can be implemented via a virtual network element 430composed of NFV software modules, merchant silicon, and associatedcontrollers. The software can be written so that increasing workloadconsumes incremental resources from a common resource pool, and moreoverso that it's elastic: so the resources are only consumed when needed. Ina similar fashion, other network elements such as other routers,switches, edge caches, and middle-boxes are instantiated from the commonresource pool. Such sharing of infrastructure across a broad set of usesmakes planning and growing infrastructure easier to manage.

In some embodiments, one or more of the virtual network elements caninclude a virtual stream selector 436 supporting a stream selectionfunction. For example, the virtual stream selector 436 determines demandand/or trend data for one or more wireless access territories or cells.The virtual stream selector 436 can be adapted to implement all or atleast portions of one or more of the stream selection processesdisclosed herein, such as those processes 310, 320, 330, 340 disclosedin FIGS. 3B-3E.

In an embodiment, the transport layer 450 includes fiber, cable, wiredand/or wireless transport elements, network elements and interfaces toprovide broadband access 210, wireless access 220, voice access 230,media access 240 and/or access to content sources 275 for distributionof content to any or all of the access technologies. In particular, insome cases a network element needs to be positioned at a specific place,and this allows for less sharing of common infrastructure. Other times,the network elements have specific physical layer adapters that cannotbe abstracted or virtualized, and might require special DSP code andanalog front-ends (AFEs) that do not lend themselves to implementationas virtual network elements 430, 432, 434 or 436. These network elementscan be included in transport layer 450.

The virtualized network function cloud 425 interfaces with the transportlayer 450 to provide the virtual network elements 430, 432, 434, 436etc. to provide specific NFVs. In particular, the virtualized networkfunction cloud 425 leverages cloud operations, applications, andarchitectures to support networking workloads. The virtualized networkelements 430, 432, 434 and 436 can employ network function software thatprovides either a one-for-one mapping of traditional network elementfunction or alternately some combination of network functions designedfor cloud computing. For example, virtualized network elements 430, 432,434 and 436 can include route reflectors, domain name system (DNS)servers, and dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) servers, systemarchitecture evolution (SAE) and/or mobility management entity (MME)gateways, broadband network gateways, IP edge routers for IP-VPN,Ethernet and other services, load balancers, distributers and othernetwork elements. Because these elements don't typically need to forwardlarge amounts of traffic, their workload can be distributed across anumber of servers—each of which adds a portion of the capability, andoverall which creates an elastic function with higher availability thanits former monolithic version. These virtual network elements 430, 432,434, 436 etc. can be instantiated and managed using an orchestrationapproach similar to those used in cloud compute services.

The cloud computing environments 475 can interface with the virtualizednetwork function cloud 425 via APIs that expose functional capabilitiesof the VNE 430, 432, 434, etc. to provide the flexible and expandedcapabilities to the virtualized network function cloud 425. Inparticular, network workloads may have applications distributed acrossthe virtualized network function cloud 425 and cloud computingenvironment 475 and in the commercial cloud, or might simply orchestrateworkloads supported entirely in NFV infrastructure from these thirdparty locations.

Turning now to FIG. 5, there is illustrated a block diagram of acomputing environment in accordance with various aspects describedherein. In order to provide additional context for various embodimentsof the embodiments described herein, FIG. 5 and the following discussionare intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitablecomputing environment 500 in which the various embodiments of thesubject disclosure can be implemented. In particular, computingenvironment 500 can be used in the implementation of network elements125, 132, 134, 138, 136, 140, 150, 175, 180, 182, 184, 186, 188, 191,192, 193, of FIG. 1, network elements 250, 252, 254, 256, accessterminal 212, base station or access point 222, switching device 232,media terminal 242, of FIG. 2, media delivery system 301, contentdelivery network 303, wireless access terminals 305, stream selector307, MDS system data 308, other systems 309 of FIG. 3A, and/or virtualnetwork elements 430, 432, 434, 436 of FIG. 4 etc. Each of these devicescan be implemented via computer-executable instructions that can run onone or more computers, and/or in combination with other program modulesand/or as a combination of hardware and software.

Generally, program modules comprise routines, programs, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the inventive methods can be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, comprising single-processor or multiprocessor computersystems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personalcomputers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can beoperatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

As used herein, a processing circuit includes one or more processors aswell as other application specific circuits such as an applicationspecific integrated circuit, digital logic circuit, state machine,programmable gate array or other circuit that processes input signals ordata and that produces output signals or data in response thereto. Itshould be noted that while any functions and features described hereinin association with the operation of a processor could likewise beperformed by a processing circuit.

The illustrated embodiments of the embodiments herein can be alsopracticed in distributed computing environments where certain tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Computing devices typically comprise a variety of media, which cancomprise computer-readable storage media and/or communications media,which two terms are used herein differently from one another as follows.Computer-readable storage media can be any available storage media thatcan be accessed by the computer and comprises both volatile andnonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example,and not limitation, computer-readable storage media can be implementedin connection with any method or technology for storage of informationsuch as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structured dataor unstructured data.

Computer-readable storage media can comprise, but are not limited to,random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electricallyerasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM),flash memory or othermemory technology, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digitalversatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devicesor other tangible and/or non-transitory media which can be used to storedesired information. In this regard, the terms “tangible” or“non-transitory” herein as applied to storage, memory orcomputer-readable media, are to be understood to exclude onlypropagating transitory signals per se as modifiers and do not relinquishrights to all standard storage, memory or computer-readable media thatare not only propagating transitory signals per se.

Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one or more local orremote computing devices, e.g., via access requests, queries or otherdata retrieval protocols, for a variety of operations with respect tothe information stored by the medium.

Communications media typically embody computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructureddata in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrierwave or other transport mechanism, and comprises any informationdelivery or transport media. The term “modulated data signal” or signalsrefers to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set orchanged in such a manner as to encode information in one or moresignals. By way of example, and not limitation, communication mediacomprise wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wiredconnection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and otherwireless media.

With reference again to FIG. 5, the example environment can comprise acomputer 502, the computer 502 comprising a processing unit 504, asystem memory 506 and a system bus 508. The system bus 508 couplessystem components including, but not limited to, the system memory 506to the processing unit 504. The processing unit 504 can be any ofvarious commercially available processors. Dual microprocessors andother multiprocessor architectures can also be employed as theprocessing unit 504.

The system bus 508 can be any of several types of bus structure that canfurther interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memorycontroller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety ofcommercially available bus architectures. The system memory 506comprises ROM 510 and RAM 512. A basic input/output system (BIOS) can bestored in a non-volatile memory such as ROM, erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM), EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basic routines thathelp to transfer information between elements within the computer 502,such as during startup. The RAM 512 can also comprise a high-speed RAMsuch as static RAM for caching data.

The computer 502 further comprises an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 514(e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal hard disk drive 514 can also beconfigured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown), amagnetic floppy disk drive (FDD) 516, (e.g., to read from or write to aremovable diskette 518) and an optical disk drive 520, (e.g., reading aCD-ROM disk 522 or, to read from or write to other high capacity opticalmedia such as the DVD). The hard disk drive 514, magnetic disk drive 516and optical disk drive 520 can be connected to the system bus 508 by ahard disk drive interface 524, a magnetic disk drive interface 526 andan optical drive interface 528, respectively. The interface 524 forexternal drive implementations comprises at least one or both ofUniversal Serial Bus (USB) and Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 1394 interface technologies. Other external driveconnection technologies are within contemplation of the embodimentsdescribed herein.

The drives and their associated computer-readable storage media providenonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executableinstructions, and so forth. For the computer 502, the drives and storagemedia accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format.Although the description of computer-readable storage media above refersto a hard disk drive (HDD), a removable magnetic diskette, and aremovable optical media such as a CD or DVD, it should be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that other types of storage media which arereadable by a computer, such as zip drives, magnetic cassettes, flashmemory cards, cartridges, and the like, can also be used in the exampleoperating environment, and further, that any such storage media cancontain computer-executable instructions for performing the methodsdescribed herein.

A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM 512,comprising an operating system 530, one or more application programs532, other program modules 534 and program data 536. All or portions ofthe operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also becached in the RAM 512. The systems and methods described herein can beimplemented utilizing various commercially available operating systemsor combinations of operating systems.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 502 throughone or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard 538 and apointing device, such as a mouse 540. Other input devices (not shown)can comprise a microphone, an infrared (IR) remote control, a joystick,a game pad, a stylus pen, touch screen or the like. These and otherinput devices are often connected to the processing unit 504 through aninput device interface 542 that can be coupled to the system bus 508,but can be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, anIEEE 1394 serial port, a game port, a universal serial bus (USB) port,an IR interface, etc.

A monitor 544 or other type of display device can be also connected tothe system bus 508 via an interface, such as a video adapter 546. Itwill also be appreciated that in alternative embodiments, a monitor 544can also be any display device (e.g., another computer having a display,a smart phone, a tablet computer, etc.) for receiving displayinformation associated with computer 502 via any communication means,including via the Internet and cloud-based networks. In addition to themonitor 544, a computer typically comprises other peripheral outputdevices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

The computer 502 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections via wired and/or wireless communications to one or moreremote computers, such as a remote computer(s) 548. The remotecomputer(s) 548 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, apersonal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainmentappliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typicallycomprises many or all of the elements described relative to the computer502, although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory/storage device 550is illustrated. The logical connections depicted comprise wired/wirelessconnectivity to a local area network (LAN) 552 and/or larger networks,e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 554. Such LAN and WAN networkingenvironments are commonplace in offices and companies, and facilitateenterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all of which canconnect to a global communications network, e.g., the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 502 can beconnected to the local network 552 through a wired and/or wirelesscommunication network interface or adapter 556. The adapter 556 canfacilitate wired or wireless communication to the LAN 552, which canalso comprise a wireless AP disposed thereon for communicating with thewireless adapter 556.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 502 can comprisea modem 558 or can be connected to a communications server on the WAN554 or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN 554,such as by way of the Internet. The modem 558, which can be internal orexternal and a wired or wireless device, can be connected to the systembus 508 via the input device interface 542. In a networked environment,program modules depicted relative to the computer 502 or portionsthereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device 550. It willbe appreciated that the network connections shown are example and othermeans of establishing a communications link between the computers can beused.

The computer 502 can be operable to communicate with any wirelessdevices or entities operatively disposed in wireless communication,e.g., a printer, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portabledata assistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment orlocation associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk,news stand, restroom), and telephone. This can comprise WirelessFidelity (Wi-Fi) and BLUETOOTH® wireless technologies. Thus, thecommunication can be a predefined structure as with a conventionalnetwork or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.

Wi-Fi can allow connection to the Internet from a couch at home, a bedin a hotel room or a conference room at work, without wires. Wi-Fi is awireless technology similar to that used in a cell phone that enablessuch devices, e.g., computers, to send and receive data indoors and out;anywhere within the range of a base station. Wi-Fi networks use radiotechnologies called IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, n, ac, ag etc.) to providesecure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can beused to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wirednetworks (which can use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Fi networks operatein the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands for example or with productsthat contain both bands (dual band), so the networks can providereal-world performance similar to the basic 10 BaseT wired Ethernetnetworks used in many offices.

Turning now to FIG. 6, an embodiment 600 of a mobile network platform610 is shown that is an example of network elements 125, 132, 134, 138,136, 160, 161, 175, 180, 182, 184, 186, 188, 191, 192, 193, of FIG. 1,network elements 250, 252, 254, 256, access terminal 212, base stationor access point 222, switching device 232, media terminal 242, of FIG.2, media delivery system 301, content delivery network 303, wirelessaccess terminals 305, user equipment 306, stream selector 307, MDSsystem data 308, other systems 309 of FIG. 3A, and/or virtual networkelements 430, 432, 434, 436 of FIG. 4, etc. In one or more embodiments,the mobile network platform 610 can generate and receive signalstransmitted and received by base stations or access points such as basestation or access point 222. Generally, wireless network platform 610can comprise components, e.g., nodes, gateways, interfaces, servers, ordisparate platforms, that facilitate both packet-switched (PS) (e.g.,internet protocol (IP), frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM))and circuit-switched (CS) traffic (e.g., voice and data), as well ascontrol generation for networked wireless telecommunication. As anon-limiting example, wireless network platform 610 can be included intelecommunications carrier networks, and can be considered carrier-sidecomponents as discussed elsewhere herein. Mobile network platform 610comprises CS gateway node(s) 612 which can interface CS traffic receivedfrom legacy networks like telephony network(s) 640 (e.g., publicswitched telephone network (PSTN), or public land mobile network (PLMN))or a signaling system #7 (SS7) network 670. Circuit switched gatewaynode(s) 612 can authorize and authenticate traffic (e.g., voice) arisingfrom such networks. Additionally, CS gateway node(s) 612 can accessmobility, or roaming, data generated through SS7 network 670; forinstance, mobility data stored in a visited location register (VLR),which can reside in memory 630. Moreover, CS gateway node(s) 612interfaces CS-based traffic and signaling and PS gateway node(s) 618. Asan example, in a 3GPP UMTS network, CS gateway node(s) 612 can berealized at least in part in gateway GPRS support node(s) (GGSN). Itshould be appreciated that functionality and specific operation of CSgateway node(s) 612, PS gateway node(s) 618, and serving node(s) 616, isprovided and dictated by radio technology(ies) utilized by mobilenetwork platform 610 for telecommunication.

In addition to receiving and processing CS-switched traffic andsignaling, PS gateway node(s) 618 can authorize and authenticatePS-based data sessions with served mobile devices. Data sessions cancomprise traffic, or content(s), exchanged with networks external to thewireless network platform 610, like wide area network(s) (WANs) 650,enterprise network(s) 670, and service network(s) 680, which can beembodied in local area network(s) (LANs), can also be interfaced withmobile network platform 610 through PS gateway node(s) 618. It is to benoted that WANs 650 and enterprise network(s) 660 can embody, at leastin part, a service network(s) like IP multimedia subsystem (IMS). Basedon radio technology layer(s) available in technology resource(s) 617,packet-switched gateway node(s) 618 can generate packet data protocolcontexts when a data session is established; other data structures thatfacilitate routing of packetized data also can be generated. To thatend, in an aspect, PS gateway node(s) 618 can comprise a tunnelinterface (e.g., tunnel termination gateway (TTG) in 3GPP UMTSnetwork(s) (not shown)) which can facilitate packetized communicationwith disparate wireless network(s), such as Wi-Fi networks.

In embodiment 600, wireless network platform 610 also comprises servingnode(s) 616 that, based upon available radio technology layer(s) withintechnology resource(s) 617, convey the various packetized flows of datastreams received through PS gateway node(s) 618. It is to be noted thatfor technology resource(s) that rely primarily on CS communication,server node(s) can deliver traffic without reliance on PS gatewaynode(s) 618; for example, server node(s) can embody at least in part amobile switching center. As an example, in a 3GPP UMTS network, servingnode(s) 616 can be embodied in serving GPRS support node(s) (SGSN).

For radio technologies that exploit packetized communication, server(s)614 in wireless network platform 610 can execute numerous applicationsthat can generate multiple disparate packetized data streams or flows,and manage (e.g., schedule, queue, format . . . ) such flows. Suchapplication(s) can comprise add-on features to standard services (forexample, provisioning, billing, customer support . . . ) provided bywireless network platform 610. Data streams (e.g., content(s) that arepart of a voice call or data session) can be conveyed to PS gatewaynode(s) 618 for authorization/authentication and initiation of a datasession, and to serving node(s) 616 for communication thereafter. Inaddition to application server, server(s) 614 can comprise utilityserver(s), a utility server can comprise a provisioning server, anoperations and maintenance server, a security server that can implementat least in part a certificate authority and firewalls as well as othersecurity mechanisms, and the like. In an aspect, security server(s)secure communication served through wireless network platform 610 toensure network's operation and data integrity in addition toauthorization and authentication procedures that CS gateway node(s) 612and PS gateway node(s) 618 can enact. Moreover, provisioning server(s)can provision services from external network(s) like networks operatedby a disparate service provider; for instance, WAN 650 or GlobalPositioning System (GPS) network(s) (not shown). Provisioning server(s)can also provision coverage through networks associated to wirelessnetwork platform 610 (e.g., deployed and operated by the same serviceprovider), such as the distributed antennas networks shown in FIGS. 1and 2 that enhance wireless service coverage by providing more networkcoverage.

It is to be noted that server(s) 614 can comprise one or more processorsconfigured to confer at least in part the functionality of macrowireless network platform 610. To that end, the one or more processorcan execute code instructions stored in memory 630, for example. It isshould be appreciated that server(s) 614 can comprise a content manager,which operates in substantially the same manner as describedhereinbefore.

In example embodiment 600, memory 630 can store information related tooperation of wireless network platform 610. Other operationalinformation can comprise provisioning information of mobile devicesserved through wireless platform network 610, subscriber databases;application intelligence, pricing schemes, e.g., promotional rates,flat-rate programs, couponing campaigns; technical specification(s)consistent with telecommunication protocols for operation of disparateradio, or wireless, technology layers; and so forth. Memory 630 can alsostore information from at least one of telephony network(s) 640, WAN650, enterprise network(s) 670, or SS7 network 660. In an aspect, memory630 can be, for example, accessed as part of a data store component oras a remotely connected memory store.

In order to provide a context for the various aspects of the disclosedsubject matter, FIG. 6, and the following discussion, are intended toprovide a brief, general description of a suitable environment in whichthe various aspects of the disclosed subject matter can be implemented.While the subject matter has been described above in the general contextof computer-executable instructions of a computer program that runs on acomputer and/or computers, those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe disclosed subject matter also can be implemented in combination withother program modules. Generally, program modules comprise routines,programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform particulartasks and/or implement particular abstract data types.

Turning now to FIG. 7, an illustrative embodiment of a communicationdevice 700 is shown. The communication device 700 can serve as anillustrative embodiment of devices such as endpoint devices 160, 161 ofFIG. 1, broadband access terminals 212, data terminals 214, mobiledevices 224, vehicle 226, display devices 244 or other client devicesfor communication via either communications network 225, user equipment306 of FIG. 3A.

The communication device 700 can comprise a wireline and/or wirelesstransceiver 702 (herein transceiver 702), a user interface (UI) 704, apower supply 714, a location receiver 716, a motion sensor 718, anorientation sensor 720, and a controller 706 for managing operationsthereof. The transceiver 702 can support short-range or long-rangewireless access technologies such as Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, WiFi, DECT, orcellular communication technologies, just to mention a few (Bluetooth®and ZigBee® are trademarks registered by the Bluetooth® Special InterestGroup and the ZigBee® Alliance, respectively). Cellular technologies caninclude, for example, CDMA-1×, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE, EV/DO,WiMAX, SDR, LTE, as well as other next generation wireless communicationtechnologies as they arise. The transceiver 702 can also be adapted tosupport circuit-switched wireline access technologies (such as PSTN),packet-switched wireline access technologies (such as TCP/IP, VoIP,etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 704 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 708 witha navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, a joystick, a mouse, or anavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device700. The keypad 708 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 700 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or awireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth®. The keypad 708 canrepresent a numeric keypad commonly used by phones, and/or a QWERTYkeypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 704 can further include a display710 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), OLED(Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technology forconveying images to an end user of the communication device 700. In anembodiment where the display 710 is touch-sensitive, a portion or all ofthe keypad 708 can be presented by way of the display 710 withnavigation features.

The display 710 can use touch screen technology to also serve as a userinterface for detecting user input. As a touch screen display, thecommunication device 700 can be adapted to present a user interfacehaving graphical user interface (GUI) elements that can be selected by auser with a touch of a finger. The touch screen display 710 can beequipped with capacitive, resistive or other forms of sensing technologyto detect how much surface area of a user's finger has been placed on aportion of the touch screen display. This sensing information can beused to control the manipulation of the GUI elements or other functionsof the user interface. The display 710 can be an integral part of thehousing assembly of the communication device 700 or an independentdevice communicatively coupled thereto by a tethered wireline interface(such as a cable) or a wireless interface.

The UI 704 can also include an audio system 712 that utilizes audiotechnology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heard inproximity of a human ear) and high volume audio (such as speakerphonefor hands free operation). The audio system 712 can further include amicrophone for receiving audible signals of an end user. The audiosystem 712 can also be used for voice recognition applications. The UI704 can further include an image sensor 713 such as a charged coupleddevice (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 714 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and/or charging system technologies for supplying energyto the components of the communication device 700 to facilitatelong-range or short-range portable communications. Alternatively, or incombination, the charging system can utilize external power sources suchas DC power supplied over a physical interface such as a USB port orother suitable tethering technologies.

The location receiver 716 can utilize location technology such as aglobal positioning system (GPS) receiver capable of assisted GPS foridentifying a location of the communication device 700 based on signalsgenerated by a constellation of GPS satellites, which can be used forfacilitating location services such as navigation. The motion sensor 718can utilize motion sensing technology such as an accelerometer, agyroscope, or other suitable motion sensing technology to detect motionof the communication device 700 in three-dimensional space. Theorientation sensor 720 can utilize orientation sensing technology suchas a magnetometer to detect the orientation of the communication device700 (north, south, west, and east, as well as combined orientations indegrees, minutes, or other suitable orientation metrics).

The communication device 700 can use the transceiver 702 to alsodetermine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth®, or other wirelessaccess points by sensing techniques such as utilizing a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI) and/or signal time of arrival (TOA) or time offlight (TOF) measurements. The controller 706 can utilize computingtechnologies such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP),programmable gate arrays, application specific integrated circuits,and/or a video processor with associated storage memory such as Flash,ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM or other storage technologies for executingcomputer instructions, controlling, and processing data supplied by theaforementioned components of the communication device 700.

Other components not shown in FIG. 7 can be used in one or moreembodiments of the subject disclosure. For instance, the communicationdevice 700 can include a slot for adding or removing an identity modulesuch as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card or Universal IntegratedCircuit Card (UICC). SIM or UICC cards can be used for identifyingsubscriber services, executing programs, storing subscriber data, and soon.

Media content can include, without limitation, streaming media, such asstreaming video and/or streaming audio. In at least some applications,streaming media can be associated with live events, e.g., live newsbroadcasts, sporting events, emergency broadcasts, and the like. Liveevents can include, without limitation, electronic gaming, e.g., whereinthe media content includes one or more of game scenarios, game sounds,game player communications, and so on. Alternatively or in addition,streaming media can be associated with pre-programmed content, e.g.,according to a channel lineup, a service provider's offerings, and thelike. It is further understood that in at least some applications, mediacontent can include other types of media, such as file transfers,advertisements, software and/or firmware distributions, e.g., inassociation with Machine Type Communications (MTC) or Machine-to-Machine(M2M) communications according to Internet of Thigs (IoT) applications,and so on.

The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and so forth, as used in theclaims, unless otherwise clear by context, is for clarity only anddoesn't otherwise indicate or imply any order in time. For instance, “afirst determination,” “a second determination,” and “a thirddetermination,” does not indicate or imply that the first determinationis to be made before the second determination, or vice versa, etc.

In the subject specification, terms such as “store,” “storage,” “datastore,” data storage,” “database,” and substantially any otherinformation storage component relevant to operation and functionality ofa component, refer to “memory components,” or entities embodied in a“memory” or components comprising the memory. It will be appreciatedthat the memory components described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory, or can comprise both volatile andnonvolatile memory, by way of illustration, and not limitation, volatilememory, non-volatile memory, disk storage, and memory storage. Further,nonvolatile memory can be included in read only memory (ROM),programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory cancomprise random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cachememory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available inmany forms such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM),synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhancedSDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM).Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems or methodsherein are intended to comprise, without being limited to comprising,these and any other suitable types of memory.

Moreover, it will be noted that the disclosed subject matter can bepracticed with other computer system configurations, comprisingsingle-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, mini-computingdevices, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-heldcomputing devices (e.g., PDA, phone, smartphone, watch, tabletcomputers, netbook computers, etc.), microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer or industrial electronics, and the like. Theillustrated aspects can also be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network; however, some if not allaspects of the subject disclosure can be practiced on stand-alonecomputers. In a distributed computing environment, program modules canbe located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Some of the embodiments described herein can also employ artificialintelligence (AI) to facilitate automating one or more featuresdescribed herein. The embodiments (e.g., in connection withautomatically identifying acquired cell sites that provide a maximumvalue/benefit after addition to an existing communication network) canemploy various AI-based schemes for carrying out various embodimentsthereof. Moreover, the classifier can be employed to determine a rankingor priority of each cell site of the acquired network. A classifier is afunction that maps an input attribute vector, x=(x1, x2, x3, x4, . . . ,xn), to a confidence that the input belongs to a class, that is,f(x)=confidence (class). Such classification can employ a probabilisticand/or statistical-based analysis (e.g., factoring into the analysisutilities and costs) to prognose or infer an action that a user desiresto be automatically performed. A support vector machine (SVM) is anexample of a classifier that can be employed. The SVM operates byfinding a hypersurface in the space of possible inputs, which thehypersurface attempts to split the triggering criteria from thenon-triggering events. Intuitively, this makes the classificationcorrect for testing data that is near, but not identical to trainingdata. Other directed and undirected model classification approachescomprise, e.g., naïve Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neuralnetworks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilistic classification modelsproviding different patterns of independence can be employed.Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statisticalregression that is utilized to develop models of priority.

As will be readily appreciated, one or more of the embodiments canemploy classifiers that are explicitly trained (e.g., via a generictraining data) as well as implicitly trained (e.g., via observing UEbehavior, operator preferences, historical information, receivingextrinsic information). For example, SVMs can be configured via alearning or training phase within a classifier constructor and featureselection module. Thus, the classifier(s) can be used to automaticallylearn and perform a number of functions, including but not limited todetermining according to predetermined criteria which of the acquiredcell sites will benefit a maximum number of subscribers and/or which ofthe acquired cell sites will add minimum value to the existingcommunication network coverage, etc.

As used in some contexts in this application, in some embodiments, theterms “component,” “system” and the like are intended to refer to, orcomprise, a computer-related entity or an entity related to anoperational apparatus with one or more specific functionalities, whereinthe entity can be either hardware, a combination of hardware andsoftware, software, or software in execution. As an example, a componentmay be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, aprocessor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution,computer-executable instructions, a program, and/or a computer. By wayof illustration and not limitation, both an application running on aserver and the server can be a component. One or more components mayreside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component maybe localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers. In addition, these components can execute from variouscomputer readable media having various data structures stored thereon.The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such asin accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., datafrom one component interacting with another component in a local system,distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet withother systems via the signal). As another example, a component can be anapparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical partsoperated by electric or electronic circuitry, which is operated by asoftware or firmware application executed by a processor, wherein theprocessor can be internal or external to the apparatus and executes atleast a part of the software or firmware application. As yet anotherexample, a component can be an apparatus that provides specificfunctionality through electronic components without mechanical parts,the electronic components can comprise a processor therein to executesoftware or firmware that confers at least in part the functionality ofthe electronic components. While various components have beenillustrated as separate components, it will be appreciated that multiplecomponents can be implemented as a single component, or a singlecomponent can be implemented as multiple components, without departingfrom example embodiments.

Further, the various embodiments can be implemented as a method,apparatus or article of manufacture using standard programming and/orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device or computer-readable storage/communicationsmedia. For example, computer readable storage media can include, but arenot limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk,magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digitalversatile disk (DVD)), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g.,card, stick, key drive). Of course, those skilled in the art willrecognize many modifications can be made to this configuration withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the various embodiments.

In addition, the words “example” and “exemplary” are used herein to meanserving as an instance or illustration. Any embodiment or designdescribed herein as “example” or “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments ordesigns. Rather, use of the word example or exemplary is intended topresent concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, theterm “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive“or”. That is, unless specified otherwise or clear from context, “Xemploys A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusivepermutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both Aand B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoinginstances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in thisapplication and the appended claims should generally be construed tomean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context tobe directed to a singular form.

Moreover, terms such as “user equipment,” “mobile station,” “mobile,”subscriber station,” “access terminal,” “terminal,” “handset,” “mobiledevice” (and/or terms representing similar terminology) can refer to awireless device utilized by a subscriber or user of a wirelesscommunication service to receive or convey data, control, voice, video,sound, gaming or substantially any data-stream or signaling-stream. Theforegoing terms are utilized interchangeably herein and with referenceto the related drawings.

Furthermore, the terms “user,” “subscriber,” “customer,” “consumer” andthe like are employed interchangeably throughout, unless contextwarrants particular distinctions among the terms. It should beappreciated that such terms can refer to human entities or automatedcomponents supported through artificial intelligence (e.g., a capacityto make inference based, at least, on complex mathematical formalisms),which can provide simulated vision, sound recognition and so forth.

As employed herein, the term “processor” can refer to substantially anycomputing processing unit or device comprising, but not limited tocomprising, single-core processors; single-processors with softwaremultithread execution capability; multi-core processors; multi-coreprocessors with software multithread execution capability; multi-coreprocessors with hardware multithread technology; parallel platforms; andparallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, aprocessor can refer to an integrated circuit, an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic controller (PLC), acomplex programmable logic device (CPLD), a discrete gate or transistorlogic, discrete hardware components or any combination thereof designedto perform the functions described herein. Processors can exploitnano-scale architectures such as, but not limited to, molecular andquantum-dot based transistors, switches and gates, in order to optimizespace usage or enhance performance of user equipment. A processor canalso be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

As used herein, terms such as “data storage,” data storage,” “database,”and substantially any other information storage component relevant tooperation and functionality of a component, refer to “memorycomponents,” or entities embodied in a “memory” or components comprisingthe memory. It will be appreciated that the memory components orcomputer-readable storage media, described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory or can include both volatile andnonvolatile memory.

What has been described above includes mere examples of variousembodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe everyconceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes ofdescribing these examples, but one of ordinary skill in the art canrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the presentembodiments are possible. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed and/orclaimed herein are intended to embrace all such alterations,modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes”is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term isintended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as“comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in aclaim.

In addition, a flow diagram may include a “start” and/or “continue”indication. The “start” and “continue” indications reflect that thesteps presented can optionally be incorporated in or otherwise used inconjunction with other routines. In this context, “start” indicates thebeginning of the first step presented and may be preceded by otheractivities not specifically shown. Further, the “continue” indicationreflects that the steps presented may be performed multiple times and/ormay be succeeded by other activities not specifically shown. Further,while a flow diagram indicates a particular ordering of steps, otherorderings are likewise possible provided that the principles ofcausality are maintained.

As may also be used herein, the term(s) “operably coupled to”, “coupledto”, and/or “coupling” includes direct coupling between items and/orindirect coupling between items via one or more intervening items. Suchitems and intervening items include, but are not limited to, junctions,communication paths, components, circuit elements, circuits, functionalblocks, and/or devices. As an example of indirect coupling, a signalconveyed from a first item to a second item may be modified by one ormore intervening items by modifying the form, nature or format ofinformation in a signal, while one or more elements of the informationin the signal are nevertheless conveyed in a manner than can berecognized by the second item. In a further example of indirectcoupling, an action in a first item can cause a reaction on the seconditem, as a result of actions and/or reactions in one or more interveningitems.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement which achieves thesame or similar purpose may be substituted for the embodiments describedor shown by the subject disclosure. The subject disclosure is intendedto cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, can be used in the subject disclosure.For instance, one or more features from one or more embodiments can becombined with one or more features of one or more other embodiments. Inone or more embodiments, features that are positively recited can alsobe negatively recited and excluded from the embodiment with or withoutreplacement by another structural and/or functional feature. The stepsor functions described with respect to the embodiments of the subjectdisclosure can be performed in any order. The steps or functionsdescribed with respect to the embodiments of the subject disclosure canbe performed alone or in combination with other steps or functions ofthe subject disclosure, as well as from other embodiments or from othersteps that have not been described in the subject disclosure. Further,more than or less than all of the features described with respect to anembodiment can also be utilized.

1. A device, comprising: a processing system including a processor; anda memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by theprocessing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operationscomprising: determining a plurality of available streaming mediaprograms; identifying a first number of wireless broadcast channels of amobile cellular network, wherein the mobile cellular network is adaptedto broadcast streaming media within a coverage area, and wherein thefirst number of wireless broadcast channels includes a limited channelcapacity; detecting a trigger event; soliciting, responsive to thedetecting of the trigger event, votes from subscriber equipment, thevotes identifying streaming media program preferences; determining aconsumer demand for a group of streaming media programs of the pluralityof available streaming media programs according to the votes identifyingthe streaming media program preferences; selecting streaming mediaprograms of the group of streaming media programs to obtain selectedstreaming media programs according to the consumer demand, wherein abroadcasting of the selected streaming media programs within thecoverage area does not exceed the limited channel capacity; andassigning the selected streaming media programs to a group of broadcastchannels of the first number of wireless broadcast channels to obtain abroadcast channel assignment for the coverage area, wherein the mobilecellular network is configured to broadcast the selected streaming mediaprograms within the coverage area via wireless broadcast channels of thefirst number of wireless broadcast channels according to the broadcastchannel assignment.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the soliciting ofthe votes further comprises: implementing a voting event based on thegroup of streaming media programs; obtaining voting results responsiveto the implementing of the voting event; and analyzing the votingresults, wherein the consumer demand is based on the voting results. 3.The device of claim 2, wherein the analyzing of the voting resultsfurther comprises: ranking the group of streaming media programs toobtain a ranked order of the group of streaming media programs based onthe voting results, wherein the selecting of the streaming mediaprograms of the group of streaming media programs is further based onthe ranked order of the group of streaming media programs.
 4. The deviceof claim 3, wherein the broadcast channel assignment is further based onthe ranked order of the group of streaming media programs.
 5. The deviceof claim 2, wherein the voting event further comprises: soliciting avote via one of a media consumption application, a social mediaapplication, a mobile messaging application, or any combination thereof.6. The device of claim 1, wherein broadcasting of the selected streamingmedia programs according to the broadcast channel assignment distributesthe selected streaming media programs to a plurality of mobile consumerdevices within the coverage area.
 7. The device of claim 6, wherein thebroadcasting of a particular selected streaming media program of theselected streaming media programs according to the broadcast channelassignment comprises an IP multicast of the particular selectedstreaming media program.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein thesoliciting of the votes comprises a wide cast vote applied to one ofmultiple cells, multiple sectors or both of the mobile cellular network.9. The device of claim 1, wherein the trigger event further comprises:detecting a mobility of user equipment with respect to the coveragearea, wherein the mobility of the user equipment comprises one of theuser equipment entering the coverage area, the user equipment exitingthe coverage area, or a combination thereof.
 10. The device of claim 1,wherein the determining of the consumer demand further comprises acurrent demand based on current media content consumption of streamingmedia programs of the plurality of available streaming media programs.11. The device of claim 1, wherein the determining of the consumerdemand further comprises a trend according to media content consumptionof the plurality of streaming media programs.
 12. The device of claim 1,wherein the determining of the consumer demand further comprises:obtaining social media data from a social media application; andanalyzing the social media data to obtain analysis results, wherein theconsumer demand is based on the analysis results.
 13. A method,comprising: determining, by a processing system including a processor, aplurality of available streaming media items; identifying, by theprocessing system, a first number of wireless broadcast channels of amobile network, wherein the first number of wireless broadcast channelsare adapted to broadcast streaming media items within a coverage area,and wherein the first number of wireless broadcast channels have alimited channel capacity; identifying by the processing system, anoccurrence of a trigger event; requesting, by the processing system andresponsive to the occurrence of the trigger event, votes from subscriberequipment, the votes identifying streaming media item preferences;determining, by the processing system, a user demand for a group ofstreaming media items of the plurality of available streaming mediaitems according to the votes identifying the streaming media itempreferences; selecting, by the processing system, streaming media itemsof the group of streaming media items to obtain selected streaming mediaitems according to the user demand, wherein a broadcasting of theselected streaming media items within the coverage area does not exceedthe limited channel capacity; and assigning, by the processing system,the selected streaming media items to a group of broadcast channels ofthe first number of wireless broadcast channels to obtain a broadcastchannel assignment for the coverage area, wherein the mobile network isconfigured to broadcast the selected streaming media items within thecoverage area via wireless broadcast channels of the first number ofwireless broadcast channels according to the broadcast channelassignment.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the requesting of thevotes further comprises: initiating, by the processing system, a votingevent based on the group of available streaming media items; obtaining,by the processing system, voting results responsive to the initiating ofthe voting event; and analyzing, by the processing system, the votingresults, wherein the user demand is based on the voting results.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the analyzing of the voting results furthercomprises: ranking, by the processing system, the group of streamingmedia items to obtain a ranked order of the group of streaming mediaitems based on the voting results, wherein the selecting of thestreaming media items of the group of streaming media items is furtherbased on the ranked order of the group of streaming media items.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the broadcast channel assignment is furtherbased on the ranked order of the group of streaming media items.
 17. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the voting event further comprises:soliciting, by the processing system, a vote via one of a mediaconsumption application, a social media application, a mobile messagingapplication, or any combination thereof.
 18. A non-transitory,machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, whenexecuted by a processing system including a processor, facilitateperformance of operations, the operations comprising: determining aplurality of available media content items; identifying a first numberof wireless broadcast channels of a wireless network, wherein thewireless network is adapted to broadcast media content items within acoverage area, and wherein the first number of wireless broadcastchannels has a limited channel capacity; detecting a trigger event;soliciting, responsive to the trigger event, votes from subscriberequipment, the votes identifying streaming media content itempreferences; determining a demand for a group of media content items ofthe plurality of available media content items according to the votesidentifying the streaming media content item preferences; selectingmedia content items of the group of media content items to obtainselected media content items according to the demand, wherein abroadcasting of the selected media content items within the coveragearea does not exceed the limited channel capacity; and assigning theselected media content items to a group of broadcast channels of thefirst number of wireless broadcast channels to obtain a broadcastchannel assignment for the coverage area, wherein the wireless networkis configured to broadcast the selected media content items within thecoverage area via wireless broadcast channels of the first number ofwireless broadcast channels according to the broadcast channelassignment.
 19. The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 18,wherein the soliciting of the votes further comprises: initiating avoting event based on the group of media content items; obtaining votingresults responsive to the initiating of the voting event; and analyzingthe voting results, wherein the demand is based on the voting results.20. The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein theanalyzing of the voting results further comprises: ranking the group ofmedia content items to obtain a ranked order of the group of mediacontent items based on the voting results, wherein the selecting of themedia content items of the group of media content items is further basedon the ranked order of the group of media content items.